The United States’ refusal to issue visas to some Russian delegates who were about to participate in the UN General Assembly session is nothing but breaking international rules, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov believes.
According to him, the situation is ‘unacceptable’; a ‘tough response’ by both Moscow and the United Nations is needed.
“Washington is violating its international commitments, this is a direct violation of Washington’s international obligations because this is not a bilateral visit, this is a visit by Russia’s delegation to the UN General Assembly,” state-run news agency TASS quotes Peskov.
When asked what steps Moscow was going to take, the presidential press secretary answered that the US ambassador had been called to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Moreover, a protest note was handed to a representative of the US Embassy, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
“According to our rules, we do not comment on particular cases of applying for a visa to the United States,” the US Embassy commented on the situation.
On September 24, several members of the Russian Federation Council, including chairman of the International Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev and MP Leonid Slutsky, were not given US visas. As a result, ten Russian delegates did not take part in the UN General Assembly session.
In August 2019, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson who was about to come to Russian as part of the US Congress delegation said that he failed to get a corresponding permission. In turn, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the senator was on the list of the persons who are banned from entering the country.
