A Russian photographer, who shot the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, criticised American media for its 'hysteria' over the photoshoot.
There was much furor in the U.S. media after the White House blocked U.S. reporters from photographing the meeting, opting to allow only the White House and a sole Russian photographer to capture the images of the two officials.
Alexandr Scherbak, who shot the meeting for Russian state news agency TASS, posted a Facebook post that urged U.S. journalists "not to lose their professional dignity."
"I would like to address the U.S. media. Honestly, this is nonsense to me. I am an individual who is not in the public eye and I've never commented on my work before, but, this hysteria around my photoshoot at the White House, has forced me to write this post," read the post.
"Under the terms of the collaborative work between the Russian Foreign Ministry and TASS news agency, I provided some of my photo materials for free publications on the foreign ministry's official page and to other sources. Some photographs are distributed by TASS as with any other news agency," he said, adding that there was nothing unusual about the photoshoot with Trump and Lavrov.
"I am urging U.S. journalists not to lose their professional dignity and not to pin the blame on other people for their failure in organizing the photoshoot and the failure to provide access to their media. I have worked as a professional photo correspondent for many years and I am facing such absurd and ludicrous charges for the first time," he added.