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It means the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister wil not be able to attend the UN Security Council meeting.
Getting a travel visa can be a headache for anyone planning an international trip.
But when world leaders and high-ranking diplomats face passport control hurdles, a simple paperwork delay can quickly spiral into a global shouting match.
That is exactly what happened in New York this week.
Locked outside
According to Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, the United States refused to grant a visa to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov, blocking him from attending a major United Nations Security Council meeting.
“Despite all our efforts to obtain a visa from the American side, it was never issued,” Nebenzya said during the meeting in the UN Security Council according to the Russian state-affiliated news agency TASS.
He called the denial a blatant display of disrespect, labeling it “a flagrant disrespect for China’s presidency.”
Nebenzya noted that Alimov was specifically invited by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss how to protect the UN Charter.
Missing in action
Reuters reports that a UN diplomat indicated that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was also denied an entry visa for the same high-profile meeting.
UN spokesperson Farhan Haq confirmed that Araqchi would not make it to New York for his scheduled face-to-face meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, though Haq noted he did not know the official reason for the absence.
The State Department and the U.S. mission to the UN have not yet commented on the reports.
A fragile peace
This diplomatic drama comes at an unusual time for Washington and Moscow. Ever since Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second term, the two nations have maintained a line of cautious communication.
Trump’s envoys have traveled to Moscow recently, and the U.S. even paused some sanctions to allow Russia’s Kirill Dmitriev to visit America. Yet Russian officials still encounter regular roadblocks when trying to reach the UN.
Meanwhile, the actual meeting inside the UN chamber painted a grim picture of global security. UN chief Guterres warned the audience that the world now faces more active conflicts than at any point since World War II.
“A giant ship of global civilization is sailing into dangerous waters,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi added according to Reuters. He urged countries to stop fighting and find common ground.
Sources: Reuters, AP, TASS, Kyiv Post
