Russia on Tuesday accused the United States of denying a visa to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov, who was scheduled to attend a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York. Moscow denounced this as a violation of US obligations related to hosting the UN headquarters.
The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, raised the issue during a Security Council meeting chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. According to him, Alexander Alimov had been invited to participate in the discussions but was ultimately unable to travel to the United States due to visa issues.
Nebenzia stated that the Russian delegation needed to be represented at the deputy minister level to address issues related to the United Nations. He said that despite Moscow's efforts with the US authorities, the visa had not been issued.
Russia believes that this decision contravenes the UN Headquarters Agreement, which requires the United States, as the host country, to guarantee access to the New York headquarters for official representatives of the organization's member states.
The Russian diplomat also denounced what he considers a lack of respect towards the Chinese presidency of the Security Council as well as towards the discussions devoted to the Charter of the United Nations.
The US State Department and the US mission to the UN did not immediately respond to Russia's accusations. Washington provided no further details regarding the reasons for the visa denial.
This incident comes amid particularly strained relations between Moscow and Washington, marked by deep disagreements on several international issues and a rise in diplomatic tensions within international bodies.
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