Moscow's envoy accuses Washington of failing to honor commitments made under the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement.
Posted on May 26, 2026
Russia sharply criticized the United States for not granting Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov a visa to attend a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York, calling the decision a breach of Washington's obligations.
Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council on Tuesday that the country should have been represented by Alimov – “who oversees matters related to the United Nations” – at the meeting.
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“However, despite all our attempts to persuade the American side to grant him a visa, that visa was ultimately not granted,” Nebenzia said.
The 1947 agreement that established the international body's headquarters in New York requires the United States to issue visas to foreign diplomats who wish to attend U.N. functions “free of charge and as soon as possible.”
Nebenzia said not granting Alimov a visa is a violation of that treaty and also a snub to Beijing, which will preside over the Security Council in May.
“We view this not only as a breach by Washington of its obligations under the United Nations Headquarters Agreement, under which access to the United Nations must be provided to all officials and member states, without exception, but we also see this as an egregious example of disrespect toward the Chinese presidency of the Security Council,” he said.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment.
The visa controversy comes at a time of easing tensions between Washington and Moscow as US President Donald Trump pushes to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump has been speaking regularly with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. But Washington has continued to apply sanctions against Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.
Both Putin and Trump visited China separately and met with its president, Xi Jinping, in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, Iran's Foreign Ministry said Abbas Araghchi, the country's top diplomat, canceled his participation in Tuesday's Security Council meeting due to visa issues.
During last year's UN General Assembly in September 2025, the United States imposed strict limits on the movement of the Iranian delegation in New York.
In 2019, the United States also delayed then-Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's visa to the General Assembly, but ultimately granted him entry.
