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US visas not issued to 8 members of Russian delegation to UN events, says diplomat

Among them are the Russian foreign ministry employees, as well as defense ministry and Roscosmos officers

UNITED NATIONS, October 21. /TASS/. US visas were not issued to eight members of the Russian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly First Committee, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations’ Geneva office and other Geneva-based international organizations Andrei Belousov said on Monday.

"This year, eight members of our delegation, or nearly half of it, failed to obtain visas. Notably, there were not only Russian foreign ministry employees but also defense ministry and Roscosmos officers who were supposed to take part in the panel discussions and events on the sidelines of the First Committee and consultations on draft resolutions," he said.

"In the recent time, the situation with US visas to foreign delegates has been deteriorating dramatically," he noted. Last year, only one member of the Russian delegation was denied the US visa, he recalled. "Notably, it was a key member of the Russian delegation - director of the Russian foreign ministry’s department Konstantin Vorontson who deals with issues of multilateral disarmament, including the United Nations General Assembly First Committee," Belousov said.

"As for the 74th session [of the General Assembly], a total of 18 people were denied US visas," he added.