Russian Embassy Demands US to Issue Visas to Lavrov, Delegation for UNGA Visit

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Embassy in the United States has urged the White House and the State Department to immediately issue visas to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and all members of the Russian delegation for a visit to the UN General Assembly in September, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said.

"The embassy has already applied to the White House, the State Department with a demand to fulfill the obligations of the host country on whose territory the UN headquarters is based, and to immediately issue a visa to the minister and all members of the Russian delegation," Antonov told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.

"We will continue to insist on ensuring unhindered entry to all representatives of Russia participating in the event of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly," he said.

"Tomorrow I will have another visit to the State Department, where one of the central issues I intend to raise is this problem, the problem of full-scale, full-fledged participation of our minister and delegation at the upcoming September events in New York," the ambassador added.

Anatoly Antonov also said that in the near future, at meetings at the Pentagon and the State Department, he intended to find out whether Washington was really ready to talk with Moscow about arms control and a treaty to replace New START.

"I expect to meet with representatives of the Defense Department and the State Department in the near future, where we could dot the i's and cross the t's and decide whether the Americans are really ready for equal and mutually beneficial cooperation," Antonov said, answering about the future of the New START, which expires in 2026.

"I am firmly convinced that without a serious conversation between the United States and Russia, we will lose the international peace, the international order. The New START today is the 'gold standard' in the field of arms control, which must be maintained. It expires ib 2026, and we must decide what will be when we wake up and this agreement is no longer valid," Antonov added.

Later, however, State Department spokesman Ned Price said that there are no meetings to preview for Thursday between US officials and Russian officials, including Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov.

"I don't have any meetings with Russian officials, including the Ambassador to read out for tomorrow, but if we have anything to share tomorrow, we will," Price said during a press briefing.