Nebenzia said this during a high-level meeting of the UN Security Council chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. He added that Alimov, who took up the position of deputy minister at the end of last year, was to participate in this meeting.
— The Russian delegation (…), in accordance with the invitation of Minister Wang Yi, should be represented at today's meeting at the level of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Alexander Alimov, who supervises matters related to the United Nations, said Nebenzia, quoted by Reuters.
– However, despite all our efforts to convince the US side to issue him a visa, it was ultimately not granted – he added.
Outrage in Russia
Nebenzia said that under the UN Headquarters Agreement, access to the organization's headquarters in New York “should be granted to all officials of member states, without exception.”
He added that Russia considers this situation a “gross display of disrespect towards the Chinese chairmanship of the Security Council and towards the topic discussed at today's meeting, the United Nations Charter.”
Reuters reported that the US State Department did not answer its questions about the Russian ambassador's statements.
