Moscow won't let U.S. diplomats see arrested reporter Gershkovich

The Russian government has temporarily revoked the right of the U.S. embassy in Moscow to visit reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested for alleged espionage.

The Foreign Ministry in Moscow justified the move on Thursday by citing Washington's refusal to issue visas to Russian journalists who were supposed to accompany Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on his trip to New York for the UN Security Council meeting. The Foreign Ministry described that refusal as a provocation "that will not go unanswered."

The denial of the request for U.S. diplomats to visit Geshkovich in the pre-trial detention centre on May 11 was only the first step.

"Other possible response measures are currently in the works, about which the American side will be properly informed," the press release says. Lavrov himself was able to appear in New York and chaired the Russia-convened meeting earlier this week.

Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested by the Russian secret service FSB in the Urals at the end of March. The authorities accuse him of espionage on behalf of the U.S. government.

He allegedly gathered information on the Russian arms industry, whose operations are especially widespread in the Ural region. Both the White House and the Wall Street Journal have strongly denied the accusations.

If convicted, the 32-year-old faces up to 20 years in prison. The already tense relations between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated even further as a result of the incident.