Russia has accused the United States of violating its obligations under the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement after Washington denied a visa to Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov, preventing him from attending a UN Security Council meeting in New York.
Speaking before the Security Council on Tuesday (local time), Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia stated that Russia should have been represented by Alimov, who oversees UN-related affairs, at the meeting.
“However, despite all efforts to persuade the US side to grant him a visa, that visa was ultimately not issued,” Nebenzia said.
The 1947 agreement governing the UN’s headquarters in New York requires the US to issue visas to foreign diplomats wishing to attend UN activities “free of charge and as promptly as possible.”
Nebenzia argued that the refusal to issue a visa to Alimov violated that treaty and also constituted a slight against China, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council in May.
“We view this not only as a violation of Washington’s obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement—which mandates access for all officials and member states, without excluding anyone—but also as a serious case of disrespect toward China’s presidency of the Security Council,” he said.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Al Jazeera.
The visa dispute comes amid easing tensions between Washington and Moscow, as US President Donald Trump pushes to end the war in Ukraine. Trump has frequently communicated with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, though Washington continues to impose sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Both Putin and Trump have separately visited China in recent weeks and met Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Earlier this week, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said its minister, Abbas Araghchi, had canceled his attendance at Tuesday’s Security Council meeting due to visa issues. During the 2025 UN General Assembly session (September 2025), the US imposed strict limits on the movement of Iran’s delegation in New York. In 2019, the US also delayed a visa for then-Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to attend the General Assembly, though it ultimately granted entry.
