Lavrov 'thanks' US for granting him visa to take part in UN General Assembly
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has "thanked" the United States for receiving a visa to participate in the UN General assmebly session, TASS reports.
"I am happy that we have an opportunity to meet in New York. I am happy that I have received a US visa in the end, unlike members of my delegation. Washington was very considerate in this," Lavrov said in his opening remarks at the meeting in the "Astana format."
Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that Lavrov "described as shameful the situation with non-issuance of visas to the Russian delegation."
Several members of the Russian Federation Council, including Chairman of the International Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev, were not given US visas and will not be able to take part in the UN General Assembly session. Kosachev told TASS that 10 Russian delegates were refused visas.