Russia has applied to the United States for 56 visas for diplomats to attend the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The United States has not yet issued a single document.
The Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, wrote in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: US visa failure ‘alarming’.
“Washington has consistently refused to issue visas to Russian delegates to UN events in recent months,” Nebenzia wrote.
The United States takes its obligations seriously as a host country of the United Nations US State Department spokesman Ned Price said. He added that information on visas is confidential and therefore he cannot comment on individual cases.
According to the 1947 United Nations Headquarters Agreement, The United States is committed to allowing all foreign diplomats access to UN events. Washington says so Visas can be refused for three reasons – security, terrorism and foreign policy threats.
Every year we process hundreds of visa applications for delegates from the Russian Federation to United Nations events He said the price and added it Applications should be submitted as soon as possible to ensure that they are processed on time.
This is especially important due to the unjustified Russian actions against our embassy in Moscow, which significantly limited our staff and, accordingly, the ability to process visas. Price indicated.
Nebenzia said the requests were submitted to the US embassy in Moscow.
The 56 visas requested by Russia relate to the delegation headed by the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov, who was due to participate in the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which began on September 20. Nebenzia added that the journalists accompanying Lavrov and the crew of the government plane did not receive visas.
Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations asked Guterres to “once again remind the US authorities of the need to immediately issue the required visas to all Russian delegates and their accompanying persons, including Russian journalists.”
UN spokesman Eri Kaneko said both Guterres and senior UN officials are in close contact with the United States and Russia.
Relations between the United States and Russia deteriorated dramatically in February when Russian forces launched the invasion of Ukraine.
The United Nations General Assembly will begin on September 20. Speakers will include, among others, United States President Joe Biden, Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz and Lavrov. The attendance was confirmed by more than 150 representatives from different countries. The main theme of this year’s event will likely be the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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