Russia accused the United States on Tuesday of violating its obligations as host of the United Nations after Washington allegedly refused to issue a visa to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov for a UN Security Council meeting in New York.

Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia raised the issue during a Security Council session chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Nebenzia said Alimov had been invited by China to attend the meeting but was ultimately unable to travel because the US did not grant a visa.

Russia Calls It ‘Disrespect’

Nebenzia described the move as an “egregious instance of disrespect” towards China’s presidency of the Security Council, especially since the meeting focused on defending the UN Charter and strengthening multilateral cooperation.

He argued that under the UN Headquarters Agreement, the US is required to allow access to UN headquarters for officials of member states.

A UN spokesperson also said the organisation expects the host country to issue visas for all officials participating in UN activities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Also Reportedly Denied Visa

A UN diplomat said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also appeared to have been denied a visa for the same meeting.

Araqchi did not attend scheduled engagements in New York, including a planned meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The US State Department did not immediately comment on the allegations.

UN Meeting Focused On Global Instability

During the session, Wang Yi warned that global instability and conflicts were placing the UN Charter under growing strain.

Guterres said the world currently faces the highest number of conflicts since the UN was founded in 1945.

Nebenzia meanwhile accused Western countries of applying double standards and criticised what he called the remilitarisation of Germany and Japan.

(with inputs from Reuters)