According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, during the flight, more than 700,000 people simultaneously watched Lavrov’s plane on the Flightradar service. “The total number of users interested in the flight was nearly three million, a ‘record’,” she said.
It is expected that the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, during his stay in New York, will meet with UN Secretary General António Guterres and also participate in high-level public debates. During the talks, the parties will pay attention to the theme of “effective multilateralism through the protection of the principles of the UN Charter” and consider “the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.”
Washington took revenge on Russian journalists who did not wait for US visas
At the same time, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said earlier that our side has a lot of issues to discuss. According to observers, the negotiations with António Guterres will address the issue of compliance with the terms of the grain agreement, the implementation of which does not suit Moscow. Thus, obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizers abroad have not yet been removed. Obviously, it becomes inappropriate for Russia to extend these agreements.
Sergei Lavrov may hold meetings with representatives of a number of foreign states on the sidelines of the UN. Thus, the Russian Minister invited some of his foreign colleagues, including the American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, to take part in the meetings of the UN Security Council chaired by Russia. At the same time, the question of talks between the Russian minister and Blinken one-on-one is still open. It is no exaggeration to say that such a meeting would attract the attention of the whole world. However, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, the possibility of such contact “will be determined by circumstances”.
Remember that the United States has promised to give Sergei Lavrov a cold welcome in New York. This was announced in mid-April by Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov. “We were warned in no uncertain terms at the State Department at a very high level,” explained the diplomat. In any case, even before the arrival of the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs in the United States, the American side began to put spokes in the wheels of our delegation. The stumbling block, as has happened more than once, was the visa issue. Only a few days before the departure of the head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the diplomats who accompanied him to the United States, we learn that they are being issued American visas.
This time, Washington took revenge on Russian journalists who never got American visas and were forced to stay in Moscow. Radio Russia columnist Nikolai Mamulashvili, who among other correspondents was to accompany Sergei Lavrov on a trip to New York, told RG how the US Embassy kept Russian media workers on their toes until the last moment. According to him, it was initially clear that there were problems with visas for journalists. However, a few days before the planned departure for New York, while journalists from the ministerial pool, accompanied by Sergei Lavrov, were touring Latin America, a message came through that the United States would be ready to issue visas to representatives from the Russian press.
“We flew to Moscow from a trip to Latin America on April 21, on Friday evening, and on Saturday morning we were supposed to arrive with passports at the United States Embassy. “Agreed time. A man from the diplomatic mission came. We asked him when the visas were ready. He shrugged his shoulders and left,” Nikolai Mamulashvili explained. Journalists hoped that the visas would be issued on Saturday, but to no avail. : American diplomats remained silent.
On Sunday, April 23, representatives of the Russian media traveled to Vnukovo with their belongings. At the same time, one of the journalists was on duty at the US diplomatic mission, waiting for passports, ready to quickly deliver the documents to the airport. “Time passed, but the situation did not change anything. In the end it became clear that we did not have a visa. When the plane was already “fallow”, Sergei Viktorovich came to us and made a statement. According to him, the American side acted dishonorably and cowardly, “- emphasized the political observer of Radio Russia.
The most interesting thing is that on April 24, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had already arrived in New York, some kind of movement with journalists’ passports nevertheless began. “I had the impression that no one took care of our problem on Saturday and Sunday. Maybe we will get visas, but after Sergei Lavrov arrived in New York and the events with his participation began So the Americans will then say that they were given visas But they didn’t meet the deadlines. They say, I’m sorry, it happened, ”shared his opinion, Nikolay Mamulashvili.
Sergei Lavrov reacted harshly to Washington’s attack on Russian media. “A country that claims to be the strongest, smartest, free and fair got scared and did something stupid, showing what its assurances of protecting free speech and access are really worth. information”, commented the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the incident with the non-issuance of visas to Russian journalists. In a conversation with the media, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry asked “to spread the truth through their channels.” “I am sure that it will be given much more attention all over the world than this ‘filtered’ information that our Western colleagues drop on the heads of their viewers, listeners and readers,” Lavrov said. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry promised not to ignore the hostile actions of the United States. “We will not forget and we will not forgive,” he concluded.
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