Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Moscow, Russia August 31, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Ziva.
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Russia has requested 56 visas from the United States to allow Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his delegation to travel to New York for the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations this month, but still. far no one received.
In a letter to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, seen by Reuters on Friday, Russia’s Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said this was “horrifying” because in the past several months Washington had “repeatedly refused to grant entry visas” to several Russians. delegates to other U.N. events
The United States takes seriously its obligations as a host nation to the UN, said a State Department spokesperson, adding that visa records are confidential under US law so it cannot comment on individual cases.
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Under the 1947 UN “headquarters agreement,” the United States is often required to grant access to the United Nations to foreign diplomats. See the article : Americans urged to leave Ukraine amid fears of further Russian attacks. But Washington says it can refuse visas for reasons of “security, terrorism, and foreign policy”.
Relations between the United States and Russia have been strained since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February.
“We process hundreds of visas every year for representatives of the Russian Federation for UN events,” said a State Department spokesperson, adding that applications should be submitted as soon as possible in order to be processed on time.
“This is all the more important because of Russia’s arbitrary actions against our embassy in Russia, including the forced evacuation of national and third-country workers, which has severely hampered our staff and thus our ability to process visas,” the spokesperson said.
Nebenzia said the necessary applications were submitted to the U.S. Embassy. in Moscow.
The 56 visas requested by Moscow include a delegation of foreign diplomats to prepare for the arrival of Lavrov and his delegation to a high-level U.N. meeting. General Assembly in New York, which begins on 20 Sept.
Nebenzia added that no US visas had been issued to the journalists accompanying Lavrov and the flight crew.
He asked Guterres to “reaffirm to the United States authorities that they must immediately issue the requested visas to all Russian diplomats and accompanying persons, including Russian journalists.”
Guterres and other UN officials are coordinating with the United States and Russia on visas, said UN spokesperson, Eli Kaneko.
“We coordinate with the U.S. Mission on visas … and we communicate with the Mission on other issues that are brought to us. We are doing this in this case,” Kaneko said.
The United States has long barred Russian ambassadors to the United Nations and visiting Russian delegations from traveling more than 25 miles from New York City without Washington’s permission.
In February, Washington slapped sanctions on Lavrov, accusing him of “violent and illegal aggression against Russia in Ukraine.” The sanctions freeze any assets Lavrov may have in the United States and generally bar Americans from dealing with him.
Nebenzia addressed some of the recent visa issues in his letter to Guterres, saying that the Russian interior minister, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, was unable to travel to New York for the UN police chiefs’ meeting this week.
He said that representatives of the Russian law enforcement agencies were also unable to attend the UN meeting this week on the objection to the use of information and communication technology because of crimes.
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Speech by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations On the same subject : opinion | NATO Summit Apart, Europe Has America’s Problems.
Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis
