Russia Upset Its Reporters Denied U.S. Visas After WSJ Journalist's Arrest

Russian officials are upset that United States visas haven't been issued to Russian reporters amid ongoing efforts by the U.S. to push for the release of Evan Gershkovich, a journalist with The Wall Street Journal who was detained by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) at the end of March over espionage allegations.

Some Russian journalists were set to attend the United Nations Security Council meeting in New York City on Monday, along with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, but their entry visas were not issued. The reporters reached the airport and had only 40 minutes left before their flight departed to New York City only to find that the American embassy still hadn't issued the visas, according to Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"On the question of the true attitude of the United States towards journalists. It's 40 minutes before their flight to New York. They are all at the airport. Visas not issued. The answer from the American embassy: 'we are working on it,'" Zakharova wrote on her Telegram account on Sunday. "The manipulation of freedom of speech and the [infringement] on rights of journalists is obvious."