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US stonewalls scheduled rotation of Russian diplomatic missions — source

Since the beginning of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, the US has failed to issue visas for 18 Russian delegates, including those seeking to take part in the high-level week events

United Nations headquarters in New York AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz

United Nations headquarters in New York

© AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz

MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. The United States is deliberately creating obstacles for a scheduled rotation of Russian diplomatic missions on its soil, a source in Russia’s Foreign Ministry told TASS on Monday ahead of Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Washington, D.C.

Lavrov is due to pay a working visit to Washington, D.C. on December 10, where he is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump and hold talks with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, the source said earlier. The parties will discuss a wide range of issues concerning the current state and the future of relations between Russia and the United States, as well as pressing global issues.

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"We constantly raise the issue of the need to iron out numerous irritants in bilateral relations, and the list of them continues expanding under Donald Trump’s administration," the source commented.

Since 2017, US consulates in Russia have limited the number of issued visas, thus disrupting many business and private trips as well as sports and cultural exchanges, the interlocutor recalled. "This September, things went so far that some members of the Russian delegation were unable to come to New York for the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Trips to other events have also been disrupted."

"The American authorities are deliberately stonewalling scheduled rotation of our diplomatic missions, waging a real ‘visa war’ against them," the source emphasized.

Since the beginning of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, the US has failed to issue visas for 18 Russian delegates, including those seeking to take part in the high-level week events.

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