Ryabkov spoke about visas for the Russian delegation to the UN General Assembly

The Russian side sees no signs that there will be a breakdown in the issue of issuing American visas to members of the delegation and journalists for the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, but is ready for any development of events, declared RIA Novosti Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Ryabkov.

Russian delegation to the UN General Assembly in New York in September lead Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The delegation also included Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, heads of the committees of the Federation Council and the State Duma on international affairs Grigory Karasin and Leonid Slutsky, as well as Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya.

“So far, I don’t see signs that some kind of disruption will happen here. We continue to work hard. The documents have been handed over to the American embassy,” Ryabkov said.

According to him, “intense work” on these issues is being carried out in Moscow and through the Russian embassy in Washington. At the same time, the behavior of the Americans is unpredictable, so “anything can happen,” and Russia is ready for any development of events, Ryabkov added. The Deputy Foreign Minister called on the United States to fulfill its obligations, including in the issue of issuing visas to journalists.

Last year, at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, the visit of the Russian delegation was long in doubt, as the US delayed the issuance of visas to diplomats, and some members of the delegation did not receive visas. In March 2023, Washington denied visas to Russian diplomats who were supposed to participate in the session of the working group.

The UN General Assembly was established in 1945 and is the main deliberative, policy-making and representative body of the world organization, it includes all 193 members of the UN. The main session of the assembly takes place in September – December of each year, and the resumed one meets from January to September if necessary.

At the end of July, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Vladimir Putin had no plans to participate in the UN General Assembly in New York.