US Deepens Visa Crisis By Denying Entry To Diplomats To Work At UN - Russian Deputy Envoy

UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) Washington continues to violate the UN Charter by denying visas to some diplomats to visit the organization in New York, while the crisis surrounding this issue is exacerbating, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gennady Kuzmin said at the Committee on Relations with the Host Country.

"The crisis around US visa denials to representatives of member states is growing," Kuzmin said on Tuesday. "The United States grossly violates the right of a number of countries, based on the UN Charter, to participate in the work of the United Nations."

Last week, the start of a meeting of the UN Committee on Disarmament was postponed for 10 days due to the US refusal to grant a visa to the head of the Russian delegation, Konstantin Vorontsov, scheduled to participate in the session.

According to a diplomatic source at the organization, during the meeting of the host country committee, a US representative did not provide an answer to whether Vorontsov will receive a visa to arrive on time for the opening of the committee, rescheduled for February 28.

"The US representative evaded answering the question of whether a visa will be issued to Konstantin Vorontsov," the source said.

On Friday, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said that Washington failed to issue a visa to another Russian diplomat who planned to take part in a UN meeting addressing the fight against terrorism.

In his statement, Kuzmin also pointed to the fact that the United States even refused to extend visas to diplomats already working in the Russian mission in New York and issue travel documents to nationals who have been selected to work at the UN Secretariat.

Additionally, Kuzmin noted that a part of Russian diplomatic property remains "illegally" seized by the United States, and Russian diplomats and employees at the UN Secretariat are still subjected to measures that limit their movement to 25-mile zone within New York.