Lavrov-Trump Meeting: 'US Didn't File a Request to Russia Not to Publish Photos'

The United States has not asked Russia not to publish photos of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Trump and Lavrov met in Washington on Wednesday, with only two personal photographers, one from each side, admitted to the meeting, while the media was denied an accreditation for the event. The Russian photographer was an employee of TASS state news agency, who regularly serves as Lavrov's personal photographer. Later in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry and TASS published photos from the meeting, while the US side released no official photos, which triggered hysteria in the US media.

"The US side did not file a request to Russia not to publish photos," Zakharova wrote on Facebook, slamming the CNN broadcaster over publishing an article, in which an unnamed official source claimed that Moscow "tricked" Washington by releasing the photos from the meeting, as the White House did not expect the Kremlin to allow the publication by media.

She stressed that the shooting format did not assume that photos might be classified, while the US side got in advance detailed information on the Russian photographer.

"CNN reached the bottom… Does CNN really think that anyone can believe that the channel has reliable 'sources in the White House'? It is the funniest thing in this not funny story," Zakharova said.

She pointed out that in case the photos had not have been published, the hysteria would have remained anyway, with US media presenting the situation as "a secret agreement between the Russians and Trump."

Earlier in the day, Zakharova said that the US media was in "intellectual agony" due to the fact that the White House denied access to their reporters to the meeting.