Russia has asked the United States for 56 visas to allow Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his delegation to travel to New York for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly this month, but has not yet received a response, Reuters reports. .

In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasyl Nebenzia, said that this situation is “alarming”, as in recent months Washington has “constantly refused entry visas” to a number of Russian delegates to other UN events.

The US takes seriously its obligations as a UN host, a State Department spokesman said, adding that visa files are confidential under US law and that individual cases cannot be commented on.

Under the UN Headquarters Agreement of 1947, the US is generally required to allow foreign diplomats access to the United Nations. But Washington says it can deny visas for “security, terrorism and foreign policy” reasons.

“We process hundreds of visas each year for Russian Federation delegates to UN events,” a State Department spokesman said, adding that applications should be submitted as soon as possible to ensure timely processing.

“In particular, it is important to know that due to Russia’s unjustified actions against our embassy in Moscow, including the forced dismissal of local staff and third-country nationals, which significantly limited our staff and the ability to issue visas,” he said. explained the same spokesman.

Nebenzya said that these requests were submitted to the US Embassy in Moscow.

For some time, the United States prohibited Russian diplomats at the UN and Russian delegations from moving more than 40 kilometers from New York without Washington’s prior consent.

In February, Washington imposed sanctions against Lavrov, accusing him of “direct responsibility for Russia’s new unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine.” The sanctions freeze any assets Lavrov may have in the US and prohibit Americans from doing business with him at all.

The 56 visas requested by Moscow include a team of diplomats expected to arrive in the US to prepare for the arrival of Lavrov and his delegation for a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York, which is expected to begin in September. 20.