Washington denies entry to Lavrov’s deputy for UN Security Council meeting

During a UN Security Council meeting chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Nebenzya said that Alexander Alimov had been invited by the Chinese side to take part in a session dedicated to compliance with the UN Charter and issues of multilateral cooperation.

The Russian diplomat stressed that Moscow had attempted to secure the visa, but the US side ultimately refused entry to the Russian Foreign Ministry representative.

Nebenzya described the incident as a sign of disrespect toward China’s presidency of the Security Council and a violation of the UN Headquarters Agreement.

UN reminded of US visa obligations

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said during a briefing that the host country must ensure visas are issued to all participants in UN events if they are traveling to the UN headquarters in New York.

At the same time, the US State Department, as well as the US and Iranian missions to the UN, did not immediately comment on the situation. The Chinese side also said it had no information regarding visa matters.

Iranian foreign minister also did not arrive in New York

According to UN diplomats, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also likely did not receive a visa to attend the same meeting.

He did not travel to New York and did not meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres as previously planned.

Farhan Haq confirmed that the meeting with the UN chief will not take place, but did not specify the reasons for the Iranian minister’s absence.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, warned of the risk of new strikes on Kyiv and recommended that foreign diplomatic missions consider evacuating their personnel.