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UN GA First Committee votes against suspension of its work

The United States failed to issue entry visas to a third of the members of the Russian delegation as well as to members of a number of other nations’ delegations ahead of the regular meeting

A meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, New York Valery Sharifulin/TASS

A meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, New York

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

UNITED NATIONS, October 8. /TASS/. The United Nations General Assembly First Committee on Tuesday voted down an initiative to suspend its work until the visa problem is discussed with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, a TASS correspondent reported from the assembly.

The initiative was advanced by the Iranian delegation as supported by 16 delegations, including Russia’s. However, 78 nations voted against it while 31 abstained.

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US blocking work of many UN delegations to ensure advantages for itself — Russian diplomat

A 20-minute break was announced after the voting to allow time to reach consensus.

The United States failed to issue entry visas to a third of the members of the Russian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in due time. Moreover, visas were not issued to members of a number of other nations’ delegations either. Commenting on this situation, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky suggested the venue for the First Committee’s meetings be relocated to Vienna or Geneva.

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