Russia says US blocked visas for UN meeting delegates

Russia accused the United States on Tuesday of blocking access to a United Nations meeting in New York after U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov had not been granted a visa to attend. The dispute erupted inside a Security Council session chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where the stated agenda was upholding the U.N. Charter and strengthening multilateral cooperation.

Nebenzia said Alimov had been invited by Wang and called the visa denial an “egregious insult” to China’s presidency of the meeting. He argued that the United States, as host country, is bound by the U.N. Headquarters Agreement not to place obstacles in the way of member-state officials traveling to headquarters for U.N. business. The agreement says U.S. authorities shall not impose impediments to transit to or from the headquarters district for representatives of member states and U.N. officials.

The clash carried implications beyond one Russian delegation. The U.N. spokesman, Farhan Haq, said the organization expects the host country to issue visas for people who need to participate in activities at U.N. headquarters. He also said Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, was not in New York and would not meet Secretary-General António Guterres as planned. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday, May 25, 2026, that Araghchi would not travel to New York because of the overall circumstances and a visa-related issue.

The episode sharpened a long-running question over how far Washington can use its own screening and consular rules at the United Nations host site. State Department guidance says foreign government officials traveling solely for official duties must obtain A-1 or A-2 visas, while immediate and continuous transit to or from the U.N. headquarters district requires a diplomatic C-2 visa. The U.S. Mission to the United Nations says its Host Country Section exists to uphold U.S. obligations to the U.N. community in New York and handle visa-related services.

Wang’s meeting was scheduled for May 26, 2026, after China’s Foreign Ministry announced on May 22 that he would travel to New York to chair the Security Council session. As Wang urged parties in the wider conflict to keep working toward a ceasefire, the visa dispute became another sign of strain in a system that depends on reliable access, even for governments that are adversaries. The State Department, the U.S. mission and the Iranian mission did not immediately respond, leaving Russia’s accusation to stand at the center of a broader test of host-country obligations and diplomatic norms.