Thinks Lavrov is repeating himself. “They always tell this story,” says Hammelburg. And it’s distressing, to some extent. Because in February 2022, immediately after the war broke out, Russia also chaired the United Nations Security Council. And then they kept the same story.”
‘it’s distressing’
According to Hammelburg, the bottom line is that the Russians see themselves as perfect guardians of world peace and order, and that the “terrible Americans and their Western allies” are constantly abusing them and violating the rules of international law.
Visa
The United States is now more than familiar with Russia’s rhetoric, and therefore does not react firmly to the meeting. Perhaps all the more outside: the US government has refused visas to Russian journalists who traveled with Lavrov. “If I have to speculate, I think Americans are furious that the American Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested in Russia,” says Hammelburg. “He was arrested on suspicion of espionage, and the whole world is really furious about it.”
Another possibility, according to Hammelburg, is that the Americans simply want to intimidate Russia. Journalists accredited in Russia have to go to an office once every three months ‘cap in hand’, in the hope that their visa will be extended. “And there too many people are deported and bullied,” concludes Hammelburg. “So I think this is deliberate harassment by the United States.”