In a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Russia expressed concern that it had not yet received any visas from the US for its foreign minister-led visit to the UN General Assembly in September. That’s according to a text seen by Agence France-Presse on Friday.

“The first date^is September, 56 None of the Russian delegates (…) received entry visas to the United States. Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia writes in this letter addressed to Antonio Guterres ahead of the General Assembly’s high-level week in New York from September 20 to 26. “The same is the case with journalists and crew members on board our minister’s plane.”.

“More worryingly, in recent months, US authorities have repeatedly refused to issue visas to several Russian delegates to attend official UN events”He says, calling on America to respect “Their Legal Obligations” And “Tune Faster” Visas are requested.

Under an agreement between the US and the UN dating back to 1947, the United States should not block the passage of member states’ representatives to the UN headquarters.

In February, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States announced sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, banning them from entering the territory.

“The United States takes seriously its obligations as the host country of the United Nations.”A US State Department spokesman assured AFP that the visa granting process was confidential and could not comment on specific cases.

Considering the large number of requests to be processed each year, “To ensure timely processing, we constantly remind the Russian Mission to the UN and other missions that the United States should receive applications as soon as possible.”He added. “This is very important because of Russia’s unjust actions against our embassy in Russia.”and having limited staff “Our ability to process visa applications”He insisted.