Was the US media really banned from the Trump-Lavrov meeting?

(Baonghean.vn) - "A pain in intellectual property" - That was the rebuttal of Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, to the insinuations and accusations in the US media about the number of photographers at the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on May 10.

US President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting at the White House on May 10. Photo: TASS

Ms. Zakharova explained that the TASS news agency photographer during the meeting in the Oval Office performed the function of the foreign minister's personal photographer. And the photos from the meetings were published on the official website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"The meeting was also attended by an American photographer. Before the meeting, we clearly announced the presence of a TASS photographer as a personal photographer. After the meeting, as usual, everything was published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry as well as the Ministry's social networking sites, in order to facilitate free access, as well as provide information to Russian and international journalists," Zakhavorva affirmed.

"The accusation that Moscow was at fault in this closed meeting is completely absurd. In this situation, one can see the hysteria of the American media. A pain in the neck for intellectual property" - the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman strongly stated.

The American press and media have expressed their dissatisfaction with the White House, when allowing Russian media to "infiltrate" a closed meeting of the American press.

American journalists said that "This is unprecedented" and unusual. They even felt "afraid" to have to depend on the "charity" of the Russian government to know the details of the Trump - Lavrov meeting.

In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that this was a serious insult by some American media. Meanwhile, it was clear that the negotiations were also attended by official White House photographers.

An anonymous White House official tried to explain TASS's access to the event: “There were only two photographers present, one of ours and one of theirs, that's all!”

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(According to TASS)