Updated 02:16 IST, September 20th 2020
Russia hopes no visa issues trouble diplomats headed to United States for 75th UNGA meet
Russia expects its diplomats to encounter no obstacles this time with getting visas to the United States while travelling to attend the 75th UNGA meeting.
Russian Foreign Ministry official Pyotr Ilyichev on Saturday, September 19 said that Russia expects its diplomats to encounter no obstacles this time with getting visas to the United States while travelling to attend the 75th United Nations General Assembly.
As per reports, last year, 18 Russian diplomats along with delegates from other foreign countries were denied visas while travelling to the US to attend the annual UNGA event. Ilyichev, who heads the Department of International Organisations at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Moscow has raised the issue several times in its communications with Washington, the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly.
The 75th UN General Assembly
According to reports, Ilyichev said, “We hope that Washington will become more responsible with regard to its obligations and prevent a repetition of this scenario during the 75th session of the General Assembly. One way or another, our country will continue to oppose in every possible way the US' unlawful visa policies”.
Talking about Washington's "arbitrary" visa policies, the Russian official said that they have "the most detrimental impact on the efficiency of the organisation's work”. He added, “The US is increasingly abusing its position as the host country of the UN headquarters in order to extract unilateral political dividends and put pressure on the governments of other countries”.
The United Nations General Assembly is set to hold a virtual meeting with a record number of 173 world leaders addressing the forum next week. As per reports, the spokesperson for the UN General Assembly President Brenden Varma has informed that a record number of 119 heads of state and 54 heads of governments will virtually deliver their messages at the UN General Assembly this year. The gathering will be held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the current General Assembly President, Volkan Bozkir, various high-level officials, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had initially confirmed their in-person participation. However, due to the quarantine rules of New York State that require all foreign visitors to quarantine for 14 days, the visits were cancelled.
The United Nations General Assembly this year marks the 75th anniversary of the global body. This year's theme for the General Debate is 'The Future We Want, the U.N. We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism'.
(WIth ANI Inputs)
Published 02:16 IST, September 20th 2020