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Russian Participants of Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Conference Denied US Visas – UN Ambassador

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – The United States has denied visas not only to members of the Russia delegation planning to participate in the UN General Assembly, but also to participants of a planned conference on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia has announced.
Sputnik

"An absolutely horrible situation, when not only part of the Russian delegation to the UN General Assembly did not get American visas, but also the delegation to the CTBT conference, which will also be held this week at a high level, and where the Russian [Foreign] Minister [Sergey Lavrov] will be present," Nebenzia told journalists on Tuesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Lavrov thanked the United States for a visa, which allowed him to travel to New York and take part in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.

"I am glad that we have an opportunity to meet in New York. I am glad that in the end I received a visa from the United States, unlike my delegation, Washington was kind to do that," Lavrov said on Tuesday.

Russian upper house's Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachev said the US authorities did not provide visas to him and several other members of the Russian delegation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the visa refusal was a direct violation of the United States’ international obligations.

A State Department official commented earlier on the situation by saying that the US takes its obligations under the UN Headquarters (UNHQ) agreement "seriously."

"We evaluate each visa application on a case by case basis, consistent with existing laws and obligations," the official said on Tuesday. 

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while speaking to reporters at the 74th UNGA, called the Russian delegation visa denials a "shame" on the US.

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