Russia has sharply criticised the United States for refusing to grant a visa to Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov, preventing him from attending a UN Security Council meeting in New York a move Moscow says breaches Washington’s obligations as host nation.
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia raised the complaint during a Security Council session chaired by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, noting that Alimov had been personally invited to participate. Nebenzia called the refusal “an egregious instance of disrespect” toward China’s presidency of the Council, especially given that the meeting’s focus was the UN Charter and strengthening multilateral cooperation.
A UN diplomat said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was also apparently denied a visa for the same meeting. Neither the US State Department nor the US and Iranian UN missions responded to requests for comment, while China’s mission said it had no information on the matter.
Nebenzia argued that under the UN Headquarters Agreement, the US is required to allow entry to officials from all member states so they can participate in UN activities. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq reinforced that expectation, saying the host country must issue visas to those attending meetings at UN headquarters.
Araqchi, who had been scheduled to meet Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres, was not in New York. Haq said he did not know the reason for his absence.
The diplomatic tension comes as Iran accused the United States of violating the ceasefire in their ongoing conflict, following what Washington described as defensive strikes in southern Iran. Wang Yi urged all sides to remain committed to the ceasefire and “meet each other halfway.”
Nebenzia used the meeting to warn that the UN Charter was under “serious strain,” accusing Western nations of double standards and claiming that the remilitarisation of Germany and Japan posed new threats to global security. He said some countries were seeking to “rewrite the outcomes” of World War II a trend he described as dangerous.
Wang Yi echoed concerns about rising instability, saying the world must “reinvigorate” the UN Charter as “a giant ship of global civilization is sailing into dangerous waters.” Secretary‑General Guterres added that the world is now facing the highest number of conflicts since the UN’s founding in 1945, along with “new and uncharted risks” to global peace.
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