UN Chief Expresses Concern at US Delay in Granting Visas to Russian Diplomats

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed his concern at the US government’s delays in issuing visas to Russian and other diplomatic delegations to the world body, United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

"The Secretary-General remains very concerned by delays in the issuance of visas by the host country to some representatives of the Russian Federation and other Member States to attend UN meetings in New York", Dujarric said. "For many months, the Secretary-General and the United Nations Legal Counsel have repeatedly conveyed their concerns and the legal position of the Organization to senior representatives of the host country".

The statement comes after the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Washington is putting up obstacles in the way of Russian officers, who belong to a UN Security Council committee, and need to get US visas, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres fails to act.

In September, ten members of the Russian delegation were denied visas to attend the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. In response, Moscow accused the US of violating its international obligations by failing to issue visas to the Russian delegation. In particular, Leonid Slutsky, Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee, and other members of the delegation were denied visas.