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Russian MFA says Malta canceled visa for its spokeswoman ahead of trip to OSCE meeting

It happened just as the Russian delegation was about to board a flight from Moscow, the ministry said in a statement

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

© Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the visa of its spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was canceled by Malta ahead of a meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council.

It happened just as the Russian delegation was about to board a flight from Moscow, the ministry said in a statement.

"In an unprecedented case, the visa that had been issued to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova by the Maltese presidency was revoked ahead of the event, with the reason being phrased like this: ‘Due to circumstances beyond our control,’" the statement said.

According to the ministry, the Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will pay special attention at the upcoming meeting to the subject of failure to issue visas for various events under the auspices of the OSCE.

The OSCE Ministerial Council, the organization’s principal decision-making body, will hold its 31st meeting in Malta from December 5-6.

Zakharova earlier told TASS that Malta should ensure equal participation of all delegations.

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