The United States refused to issue a visa to Deputy foreign Minister of Russia Alimov to participate in the UN General Assembly

The United States has not issued a visa to participate in the high-level week of the UN General Assembly, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov, who oversees the direction of the world organization in the diplomatic department. This was reported in an interview with TASS by the head of the Department of International Organizations of the Russian Foreign Ministry Kirill Logvinov.

According to Mr. Logvinov, such a step will affect both the work of the Russian delegation and the high-level week as a whole. “Alexander Alimov’s participation was planned in many bilateral meetings and multilateral events,” the diplomat said.

Kirill Logvinov called the non-issuance of visas a serious violation of the obligations of the United States as a country hosting the UN headquarters. “There should be no discrimination or far-fetched pretexts here,” the head of the department stressed. At the same time, the head of the department noted that he could not recall a situation in which Russia’s visa requests for participation in UN events were ever fully satisfied.

Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing that the issue of non-issuance of a visa to Mr. Alimov, the Russian side will necessarily discuss during contacts with the United States. “This is another unfriendly action against our country,” he stressed.

The high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly takes place in New York from 22 to 28 September 2026. About 130 heads of state and government will visit the venue. The Russian delegation at the session is represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.