U.N. rebuffs Russia accusation that U.S. visa delays being ignored

 

FILE PHOTO: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a news conference after the First Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland December 17, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

 

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly expressed concern to Washington over U.S. visa delays for officials from Russia and other countries, a U.N. spokesman said on Thursday after Moscow accused Guterres of turning a blind eye.

 

Moscow says Washington has deliberately delayed issuing visas to Russian officials travelling to the U.N. headquarters in New York, a move Russia has said could further damage strained relations.

 

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday accused Guterres of ignoring the U.S. visa delays.

 

"For many months, the Secretary-General and the United Nations Legal Counsel have repeatedly conveyed their concerns and the legal position of the Organization to senior representatives of the host country," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

 

Dujarric said Guterres and his team continued to follow the matter closely.

 

The latest report from the U.N. committee on relations with the United States - as host of U.N. headquarters in New York - noted that other countries including China, North Korea, Iran, Syria and Cuba had also complained about U.S. visa delays.

 

According to the report, the United States said it takes its responsibilities as U.N. host country seriously but added that Washington "reserved the right to exclude individuals in certain limited cases where there was clear and convincing evidence that the individual was travelling to the host country primarily for purposes that were outside the scope of United Nations business and were prejudicial to the host country's national security."

 

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-27

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It used to be 3rd world countries and Russia (USSR) that pulled these juvenile shenanigans. Welcome to the wonderful world of Donald Trump. The race to the bottom goes on.

I would catefully check Russian applications too. They have a habit of knocking off ex-spies and risking the public with various radioactive poisons and then treating it as a joke with denials and lies so preposterous that their credibility evaporates. Bare faced lies are a Russian state trait 

More likely Trump pretending to be "hard" on Russia with a wink and nod to his master Vlad....

3 hours ago, WayWokeWhiteGuy said:

More likely Trump pretending to be "hard" on Russia with a wink and nod to his master Vlad....

I think it is more likely that US officials are doing their job and Trump doesn't know about this (yet). 

 

In view of Russian assassinations in the UK and Germany and proven Russian interference in US elections, responsible officials will give the visas of Russian officials extra scrutiny.

This has been an ongoing problem from he host who is supposed to admit all UN diplomats. They should move the UN to Switzerland, expel the US for not paying its share of contributions....or better still abandon the whole UN adventure, that cannot meet its charter which was to prevent war. The US is the biggest warmonger on the planet that show the ineffectiveness of the organisation.....totally redundant.

27 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

This has been an ongoing problem from he host who is supposed to admit all UN diplomats. They should move the UN to Switzerland, expel the US for not paying its share of contributions....or better still abandon the whole UN adventure, that cannot meet its charter which was to prevent war. The US is the biggest warmonger on the planet that show the ineffectiveness of the organisation.....totally redundant.

I think they should move it to the UAE.

 

How great would it be if Trump’s kids  bought it and turned it into a hotel? 
 

 

1 hour ago, Pedrogaz said:

This has been an ongoing problem from he host who is supposed to admit all UN diplomats. They should move the UN to Switzerland, expel the US for not paying its share of contributions....or better still abandon the whole UN adventure, that cannot meet its charter which was to prevent war. The US is the biggest warmonger on the planet that show the ineffectiveness of the organisation.....totally redundant.

The US pays 22% of the UN budget, and more than that of the peacekeeping costs.   https://www.politifact.com/global-news/statements/2017/feb/01/rob-portman/us-contribution-un-22-percent/

 

Will your country make up the difference if the US is kicked out?

1 minute ago, heybruce said:

The US pays 22% of the UN budget, and more than that of the peacekeeping costs.   https://www.politifact.com/global-news/statements/2017/feb/01/rob-portman/us-contribution-un-22-percent/

 

Will your country make up the difference if the US is kicked out?

He probably thinks the US makes money on it....