The United States has not yet agreed on the arrival of the plane of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the country and has not issued visas for the Russian delegation to participate in events at the UN headquarters in New York on April 24-25. According to Anatoly Antonov, Russian Ambassador to the United States, published on the Telegram channel of the diplomatic mission, a request for visas for the Russian delegation and journalists was submitted at the end of March.
Antonov urged the US authorities to do this "immediately." He also stated that the failure to issue the delegation's visas was "a breach of obligations by the United States as the host country of the UN Headquarters." Also, the Russian ambassador expects "the prompt issuance of permission for the overflight of the aircraft [of the Russian delegation and Sergey Lavrov] without any conditions and restrictions."
Russia chairs the UN Security Council during April. Every month this duty passes from one member of the Security Council to another.
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said the organization expects America to "fulfill its responsibilities" as a host. At the same time, at a briefing on April 12, he noted that no official requests from the Russian side or official information regarding these problems had been received by the UN. He expressed hope that they could be resolved.
The last time Lavrov came to the headquarters of the organization in September last year for a conversation with its general secretary, Antonio Guterres. The Russian foreign minister is under US sanctions that include a ban on entry into the country. However, at that time , the problems with the visa were resolved.
