UNITED NATIONS, March 6. /TASS/. Russia is calling on the UN secretariat to take action to prevent denials of US visas to Russian delegates, Irina Tyazhlova, a Russian representative, said at a UN meeting on Monday.
She said at a meeting of the UN open-ended working group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies that the US denied visas to some Russian delegates planning to attend the event.
"Representatives of Russian NGOs that are accredited with the group have also again encountered the problem of visa denials. Their opportunity to attend the specialized session for NGOs has been taken away," the diplomat said. "I’d like to ask US representatives what their government is so afraid of when they deny visas to attendees that have the consultative status? Are these actions standard practice for the so-called civilized world?"
"We would like to appeal to the chairman [of the meeting] and the UN secretariat with a strong request to take action to prevent this malign practice. Our priority is to ensure true equality among the group’s members," Tyazhlova said.