MOSCOW — Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday denied a U.S. request for a consular go to to Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who's jailed on espionage expenses.

The ministry stated it rejected the request for the May 11 go to in retaliation for the U.S. refusing to grant visas to Russian journalists who deliberate to accompany Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on a visit to the United Nations.

Gershkovich has been in custody since his March 29 arrest by Russia’s safety service on espionage expenses that he, his employer and the U.S. authorities have denied.

Gershkovich is the primary U.S. correspondent for the reason that Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying expenses, and his arrest rattled journalists within the nation and drew outrage within the West.

The United States has declared Gershkovich to be “wrongfully detained” and demanded his rapid launch.

The Russian denial of the U.S. request for a consular go to to Gershkovich adopted Lavrov’s warning that Moscow “will not forget and will not forgive” the denial of the visas to Russian journalists.

The Foreign Ministry stated Friday it was additionally contemplating different retaliatory measures.

“A protest note was presented in connection with the provocative conduct of the U.S. diplomatic mission, which thwarted the issuing of visas to mass media representatives from the press pool of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who were supposed to accompany him on his trip to New York as part of Russia’s presidency of the U.N. Security Council,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stated in a press release.

“The U.S. Embassy was informed in this connection that its request for consular access to U.S. citizen Gershkovich, detained on suspicion of espionage, on May 11 was declined,” the ministry assertion stated. “Other possible retaliatory measures, about which the U.S. side will be duly notified, are being considered.”

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