Russian Foreign Ministry noted connivance of the UN Secretary General in the situation with US visas

UN Secretary General Antoniu Guterres “virtually ignores” violations and manifestations of unfair competition from the United States against Russian employees of an international organization who encounter problems in obtaining American visas, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

According to her, employees of the Ministry of Defense, appointed by the UN Secretary General to the organization’s divisions, are forced to wait for the issue of an American visa for months, and sometimes more than a year.

“There are egregious cases where Russian employees already working in New York are not renewed, actually putting them in a position where they are forced to complete the contract and return to Russia”, – the diplomat said in a statement.

Thus, the Americans use the “administrative resource” for unfair competition and the removal of Russians from their posts of interest, as well as for the promotion of their troops there.

“It is noteworthy that all this happens with the clear connivance of the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, who actually ignores the violation by the United States of the Charter and the Agreement on the location of the UN central services”, – Zakharova said.

On December 19, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution obliging the United States to issue entry visas to diplomats participating in events of the world organization in a timely manner.

In the fall of 2019, the United States did not issue visas to 18 Russian diplomats to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly.