Russia’s deputy overseas minister acknowledged Wednesday that detained US reporter Evan Gershkovich had not been granted consular entry, two weeks after his arrest.

The Wall Street Journal journalist was arrested in Russia on claims of espionage, which he denies.

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The US State Department has stated it has sought consular entry to Gershkovich since studying of his arrest.

“The question (of consular access) is under review,” the deputy overseas minister, Sergei Ryabkov, was cited as saying by state-run businesses.

“We are acting in accordance with our laws, taking into account consular conventions of course,” Ryabkov stated.

“We won’t tolerate any attempts to put pressure” on Russia, he added.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden declared Gershkovich’s imprisonment “illegal” after the State Department categorised the reporter as “wrongfully detained”.

Ryabkov stated that “for us, the status assigned in Washington does not matter”.

Russian overseas ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed the “hype by US officials and Western media around Gershkovich”.

The arrest of Gershkovich, 31, on March 29 brought about outrage and is seen as a critical escalation of Moscow’s crackdown on the media.

Russia has categorised his case as “secret”, which limits the knowledge out there on it.

Gershkovich, who has been reporting from Russia for six years, was arrested throughout a reporting journey to Yekaterinburg, a metropolis within the Urals.