Russia: US denied visas to UN delegation members

Russia’s foreign ministry reportedly said Tuesday that the U.S. denied visas to members of the nation’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is set to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York to discuss the matter, Reuters reports, citing a ministry spokeswoman.

{mosads}Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, meanwhile, said the U.S. move justifies a tough response from Moscow and the United Nations, the news service noted.

Konstantin Kosachyov, who leads the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s Parliament, called the action “outrageous,” adding that “there is no explanation or justification” for it.{mosads}

”The United States breached its obligations to the international community and did not issue in due time visas to a number of members of the official delegation, including myself, and the group of accompanying officials who were due to depart for New York today to attend the 74th session of the U.N. General Assembly,” he said, according to RadioFreeEurope.

Two senators — Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) — were recently denied visas to enter Russia as part of a congressional delegation. Moscow also denied a visa for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) in 2017.