Russia: US not granting visas to diplomatic delegation is 'shameful'

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Photo: TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has criticized the US decision not to issue visas to the Russian delegation attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York, calling it "shameful", while Russia had previously issued 200 visas to the US delegation attending the meeting in Sochi.

On her Facebook page, Ms. Zakharova quoted a comment by a US State Department spokesperson on the issuance of visas to members of the Russian delegation, saying: "The United States seriously fulfills its obligations under the agreement with the United Nations," and "visa requests are considered and resolved on an individual basis and this is confidential information." In response to these comments, on the Russian side, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized this situation as "a shame".

"What is the connection between 'strict implementation of the agreement' and 'reviewing visa requests on an individual basis'? The US delegation led by Mike Pompeo was granted 200 visas by the Russian side when attending the UN conference in Sochi. Meanwhile, the US's move is completely opposite."

"At first, they accepted the passports, then returned them with the explanation 'it was too early', and did not issue about 10 visas without any clear explanation to those responsible, whose functions are directly related to the progress of the UN's work. That is really shameful" - diplomat Maria Zakharova emphasized.