Head of the Russian Federation Council committee on foreign affairs Konstantin Kosachev says the U.S. Embassy in Moscow has not issued visas to ten members of Russia's delegation who were to accompany Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on his visit to participate in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
"An unprecedented situation. The American side did not issue visas for several members of the Russian delegation who were going to participate in the UN General Assembly. A total of 10 persons. They are mostly representatives of the Foreign Ministry who were supposed to fly to New York to ensure the meaningful work of the Russian delegation," the Russian daily Kommersant quoted Kosachev as saying on September 24.
In particular, the Russian official mentioned himself personally, his colleague from the State Duma Leonid Slutsky, eight employees from the Russian Foreign Ministry, including chief interpreter, and the head of the ministry's General Secretariat, Sergey Butin.
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According to Kosachev, visas were not denied directly. However, the delegates' passports were not returned on time.
Kosachev says this refers to specialists from various fields and departments dealing with relevant issues at the UN General Assembly.
