Lavrov to lead Russia's delegation to 77th UNGA session despite US sanctions amid war

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will head to New York, despite travel sanctions imposed by the US, to lead his country’s delegation to the 77th United Nations (UN) General Assembly session in September. The Kremlin's announcement of Lavrov heading to the United States came as tensions between Moscow and Washington have continued to escalate especially over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. 

However, Russian state media RT stated that it is still unclear if the US would allow Lavreov or any other member of the Russian delegation to enter the country, or even for the UN event. On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “no plans” of heading to the US or addressing the UN but the leader signed a directive designating Lavrov as the head of the Russian delegation. 

Lavrov will be reportedly accompanied by Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin, permanent representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia and Senator Grigory Karasin and Duma deputy Leonid Slutsky. Notably, while Slutsky was sanctioned by the US in March 2014 for his support on the Crimea issue, Lavrov was added to the same list on February 25 after Putin on February 24 announced the “special” military operation in Ukraine and unleashed a full-scale military offensive. 

After the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, Washington accused Russia's Foreign Minister of being “directly responsible for Russia’s unprovoked and unlawful further invasion” of Ukraine. However, after previously dismissing the sanctions by the West as unilateral and illegitimate, the Kremlin on Monday announced that Lavrov will head to the US for the UN General Assembly, which traditionally takes place in the third week of September. This year, the 77th session would run from September 20-26. 

US mission to UN underscores visa obligations

On the other hand, the US mission representative to the UN told TASS on Monday that Washington is ‘serious’ about its obligations on issuing visas within the framework of its agreement with the agency. While replying to a question that whether Lavrov and other delegates would obtain visas for the UN General Assembly, the source told the media outlet that as the receiving country, the US "has obligations within the framework of the agreement with the UN to facilitate visits from UN member states". As per the report, the official emphasised that the US mission to the UN "was taking its obligations seriously". 

Image: AP