WASHINGTON, August 15. /TASS/. The US is abusing the chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the status of the host country, discriminating against Russia's participation and politicizing the discussions, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.

"We note the absolute unacceptability of Washington's actions as the current chair of this authoritative multilateral platform within the framework of the third series of events of the forum's senior officials taking place in Seattle. In addition to politicizing the discussions by dragging non-core issues onto the agenda, the US is once again grossly abusing the status of host country and discriminating against Russian participation. Representatives of several ministries and departments were denied entry visas. In addition, we have noted a growing number of cases of denial of the opportunity to participate in important meetings in an online format," the ambassador said in a statement published on the Russian embassy’s Telegram channel.

The diplomat pointed out that the upcoming APEC summit in San Francisco in November is also a matter of serious concern. "We demand from the administration responsible fulfillment of the assumed duties of the chairman of the forum. We insist that our representatives be granted all entry permits to the US within the timeframe they have indicated, and not at the last moment, as is often the case in American practice, when visas are issued during an event that is already underway, and sometimes even completed," Antonov said.

The Russian ambassador pointed out that the interaction between Moscow and Washington is complicated not only within APEC, but also on other international platforms. "Many irritants have already accumulated among our countries, which are permanent members of the UN Security Council and bear special responsibility for global affairs. We fail to work effectively in the interests of bilateral relations and humanity as a whole on key security challenges: international terrorism, strategic stability, climate change, the Arctic problem, and many other issues. In the context of APEC cooperation, the picture is extremely negative," Antonov said.