Moscow Refutes US Claims Russians Failed to Timely Submit Documents for Visas for UNGA

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2019) Russia refutes Washington's claims that Russians have failed to timely provide documents for US visas for participating in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Tuesday.

Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee, said earlier in the day that he, along with several other members of the Russian delegation, had failed to receive a US visa in time and would therefore miss the 74th session of the UNGA.

"The US side refers to a technical problem, to the deadline for submitting documents. This is not true. Documents have been submitted under a deadline provided by US diplomats. The documents that have been submitted earlier, a couple of months prior to the travel, have been returned, it has been said that the documents have been submitted too early," Zakharova told reporters.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will focus on the matter during his talks with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo, Zakharova added.

"This is an indignant example of US disrespect for UN member states and of its failure to fulfill commitments of a hosting nation ... This new example of neglecting the rights of sovereign states and international organizations and inability to at least to some extent properly fulfill international legal commitments will be a key topic at Lavrov-Pompeo talks in New York," Zakharova stressed.

New York is hosting the 74th session of the UNGA from September 24-30. Lavrov is expected to hold dozens of meetings with heads of states and governments, and foreign ministers on the UNGA sidelines, and also to take part in meetings of the UN Security Council and multilateral and regional negotiations of foreign ministers.