Russian senators denied visas to attend UN General Assembly session

Ten senators serving in Russia’s Federation Council have been denied U.S. visas they would need in order to participate in the upcoming annual session of the United Nations General Assembly. Konstantin Kosachev, who leads the Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee and was among the senators denied a visa, told Interfax about the incident.

Kosachev has been subject to American sanctions since April 2018. He called the rejection of his visa application “infuriating,” “unjustifiable,” and “a violation of [the U.S.’s] obligations to the international community.” Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry representative Maria Zakharova said the senators’ visa problems will be a central topic of discussion in Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s upcoming meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Zakharova asserted that U.S. diplomatic employees had falsely claimed the Russians’ visa applications were rejected because the senators did not submit certain documents in time.