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Russia suggests to move sessions of UN First Committee to Europe in 2020 — diplomat

Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said that one-third of Russian delegates to the UN First Committee's session did not get US visas on time

The headquarters of the United Nations Organization in New York Valery Sharifulin/TASS Host Photo Agency

The headquarters of the United Nations Organization in New York

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS Host Photo Agency

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THE UNITED NATIONS, October 4. /TASS/. Russia has proposed to move sessions of the First Committee of the UN General Assembly to Vienna or Geneva from 2020, Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said on Thursday.

"With the aim of normalizing the operations of the First Committee and Disarmament Commission, we think it is necessary to consider the possibility of holding future sessions in 2020 outside of the US, for instance in Vienna or Geneva," Polyansky said. "We are ready to discuss this issue in more detail during the current session of the UN General Assembly," he added.

Polyansky told TASS that US visas were not granted in time to one-third of the Russian delegation which planned to take part in the committee's session on Thursday. "The visa issue remains up in the air for now. We suggest to take a technical pause to urgently settle it," Polyansky said. "As soon as visas are granted to all members of our delegation without exception, we will be ready to resume the official session," he added.

"We are asking the UN Secretariat and Bureau to make effective steps toward stopping the practice of one country shamelessly blocking the participation of delegations from other UN member countries in the work of the First Committee," the diplomat stressed.

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