MOSCOW—Russia said on Thursday it had rejected a U.S. embassy request to visit detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in response to Washington’s refusal to grant visas to a group of Russian journalists.
The foreign ministry said it had summoned a senior American diplomat to formally protest after reporters assigned to accompany Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the United Nations this week were unable to enter the United States.
Hours later, Moscow’s envoy to Washington said he had visited two Russian prisoners being held in U.S. jails.
Gershkovich was arrested last month and accused of espionage, a charge he has denied. The United States has designated him as wrongfully detained….