France disrupted Russia’s participation in the 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris due to the failure to issue visas to representatives of the Russian delegation. This was stated on Tuesday, November 7, by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.
“We are forced to draw attention to France’s flagrant non-compliance with its obligations regarding the issuance of visas to Russian representatives traveling to this country to participate in the work of UNESCO’s governing bodies,” she reports. press service foreign policy department.
Zakharova noted that the director of the department for multilateral humanitarian cooperation and cultural relations of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Alimov, the executive secretary of the commission, Tatyana Dovgalenko, as well as an employee of the Russian Federation Commission for UNESCO, who is responsible for issues of communication and information, were not allowed into France.
An official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the issuance of visas was delayed just enough so that the country’s representatives could not attend the conference on time. Zakharova also mentioned the Agreement between France and UNESCO, which obliges the country to “allow, without delay or charge for a visa, entry and stay in France[…]to all persons invited on official business by the General Conference.”
“We see Paris’s violations of the provisions of this document as arbitrariness without regard to existing international legal norms. We call on Director General O. Azoulay (Audrey Azoulay) to decisively intervene in the situation and take concrete and effective measures,” concluded Zakharova.
On August 15, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said that Washington had denied Russian representatives visas for events under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). According to him, the United States is using its chairmanship of APEC to discriminate against the participation of the Russian side in the work of the forum.
On September 29, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia insists that the meaning of APEC’s work is not distorted and that each country bears its obligations.
On October 2, the head of the US State Department press service, Matthew Miller, said that Washington proceeds from the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not come to the APEC summit in San Francisco. He added that the United States will fulfill all obligations as host of the APEC summit, but the country will also comply with all its sanctions rules and regulations when sending invitations.
On November 7, the United States extended an invitation to Russia to the upcoming APEC summit in San Francisco, among other participating countries. Senior State Department Representative for APEC Matt Murray stressed that the United States will act in accordance with the spirit and principles, as well as American law.
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