An incident during a press conference held by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the UN General Assembly in New York last week has led to repercussions for a Russian journalist.
A reporter from Russian state-controlled television channel Channel One had tried to intercept the top German diplomat on her way to an appearance in front of German journalists. He then wanted to push himself next to the foreign minister before she began her statement.
But Baerbock wouldn’t have it. She vigorously demanded that the journalist join the ranks of the other reporters so that the press conference could begin.
The UN accreditation department said that the journalist’s actions violated the guidelines on media access, resulting in a reduction of his access authorization.
However, the journalist could continue to carry out his work in the building, the UN said, adding that he was not being denied access.
In response, Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya lodged a complaint with UN Secretary General António Guterres, urging the decision to be overturned.
He argued that the reporter did not harass Baerbock and described a confrontation with a member of the German delegation as an “attack” on the Russian.
The German Foreign Office refrained from publicly commenting on the matter when approached for a response.
