Moscow: US Sabotaging Participation of Russian Interior Minister at UN Event by Denying Visa

Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya noted that granting visas to foreign delegation is Washington's duty, and not a privilege.

"Due to the actions of the American side, the participation in the summit of the Russian delegation, headed by Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, was disrupted. The Russian delegation was simply not granted visas. This is another blatant violation of US obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement," Nebenzya said.

He added that such measures violate the principles of sovereignty and equality of nations.

This is not the first scandal involving US reluctance to issue visas to Russian officials and diplomats this year: in July, Washington refused to grant a visa to Director of the Department of International Information Security of the Russian Foreign Ministry Andrei Krutskikh.

Moscow has repeatedly called on the UN Secretariat to resolve the issue, demanding that the US stop hindering Russian diplomats from taking part in international events.