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Russian lawmaker: Issue of moving UN headquarters from US requires serious legal analysis

A Russian lawmaker sent an address to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov requesting to move UN headquarters from the US to Switzerland.

© AP Photo/Adam Rountree, File

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. The issue of moving UN headquarters from the United States requires serious legal analysis of all possible consequences, Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee chairman Konstantin Kosachev said on Monday.

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Russian lawmaker suggests moving UN Headquarters from US to Switzerland — media

The Izvestiya daily reported earlier today that State Duma’s Committee on Defense member Igor Zotov sent an address to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov requesting to move UN headquarters from the United States to a more neutral country - Switzerland.

Commenting on Zotov’s proposal, Kosachev said that "it is appropriate to discuss the expedience of holding events, including those organized in the UN framework" on the territory of the countries that support sanctions. Earlier, he proposed to submit the issue for consideration to the UN General Assembly at its session in September.

"Talking about moving the [UN] headquarters, this proposal is radical and requires a comprehensive and - first and foremost - legal analysis because the UN headquarters is located in the United States as a result of multi-party agreements, including those coordinated by the Soviet Union," Kosachev said. The lawmaker that it is important "to attentively watch any consequences that may occur" and approach the issue "carefully and balanced." "It will be possible to form an opinion about this proposal, which for now, in my view, is of exclusively political nature only after a detailed legal analysis of all circumstances of this situation and possible consequences," he added.

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Russian lawmaker gets restricted visa to US

The delegation of Russian parliamentarians led by Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko planned to participate in the 4th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament that will take place on from August 31 to September 2 in New York. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported last Wednesday that the visit of the Russian delegation to New York became impossible after the United States provided a restricted visa for Matviyenko. "In particular, visa does not allow to participate in any meetings or over events in the framework of the Inter-Parliamentary Union," the foreign ministry said.

As a result, the Russian delegation, which also included Federation Council Deputy Chairperson Galina Karelova, International Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachev, member of Committee on Science, Education and Culture Alexander Totoonov, decided not to participation in the Inter-Parliamentary Union event.

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Putin to lead Russian delegation at 70th session of UN General Assembly

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