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Russia expects US to address visa issues of diplomats

The United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee earlier passed a resolution calling on the US to promptly issue visas to foreign diplomats, including Russians, expressing "serious concern regarding the non-issuance of entry visas to certain representatives of certain Member States"

MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/. Moscow expects the US to implement a UN resolution on addressing the visa issues of diplomats, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday,

The United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee earlier passed a resolution calling on the US to promptly issue visas to foreign diplomats, including Russians. The resolution expressed "serious concern regarding the non-issuance of entry visas to certain representatives of certain Member States."

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According to the resolution, the UN General Assembly "expects he prompt issuance by the host country of entry visas to all representatives of Member States and members of the Secretariat… and, in a timely manner, to enable persons assigned as members of permanent missions or recruited to serve in the Secretariat to take up their assignments as promptly as possible and to enable representatives of Member States to travel to New York on United Nations business, and notes that the Committee anticipates that the host country will continue to enhance efforts, including visa issuance, to facilitate the participation of representatives of Member States in other United Nations meetings, as appropriate."

Since the beginning of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the United States has failed to issue entry visas to 18 Russian delegates, including those who were supposed to participate in the UNGA High-Level Week.

"We expect that the committee’s recommendations will be promptly implemented," Zakharova emphasized. "We would like to draw the United States’ attention to the fact that being the United Nations’ host country is a privilege that was granted to the US government on the condition that it fulfilled obligations to the UN and its member states."

According to the Russian diplomat, the US authorities had not blatantly misused their host status before. "They failed to issue visas to 18 members of Russia’s delegation and delegates from other countries. They also imposed tough restrictions on diplomats working in the UN missions of Iran and Cuba, and their visiting officials," Zakharova noted. "Besides, the Americans still haven’t returned the Russian permanent mission’s facilities they seized in 2016," she added.

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