MOSCOW: Kremlin calls over the US envoy over US visa refusal to its delegation visiting United Nations General Assembly.
Russia called a high ranking US envoy in Moscow on Tuesday to protest what it said was an unacceptable refusal by Washington to issue visas to members of a Russian delegation traveling to the UN General Assembly.
The Kremlin vowed a hard reply, saying that Jon Huntsman, Moscow’s U.S. Ambassador, had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry, but the Russian news agencies have said that deputy of Huntsman had appeared instead.
Kremlin has said the United States has not granted visas to 10 members Russian delegation traveling to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova has said that the U.S authorities had returned the required visa papers stating they had been filed too early.
There was no immediate statement by the U.S Embassy, however, the spokesperson has said that the problem will be raised by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with the U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo in New York.
She defined the step by the U.S as a breach of the international obligations of Washington
“This is an outrageous example of disrespect by the United States of America for members of the United Nations, as well as a failure to fulfill its obligations as host country to the world organization,” Zakharova said on Facebook.
“Another act of disregard for the rights of sovereign states and international organizations and the inability to somehow comply with their own international legal obligations will be the central theme of the conversation between Lavrov and Pompeo in New York.”
