UN seeking to expedite delayed Russian visas for General Assembly

The United States has yet to issue visas for the Russian delegation to the upcoming United Nations General Assembly debate in New York, according to UN officials who said they were addressing the issue.
"The Secretary-General and other senior UN officials remain in close contact with the host country and with concerned missions to the UN, including the Russian Federation, with respect to issues under the UN-U.S. Headquarters Agreement," a spokesperson said in a statement.
"We proactively engage with the US Mission on visas for delegations to upcoming UN meetings at Headquarters and liaise with the Mission on specific cases that are brought to our attention. We are doing so in this case."
Visas are issued under an agreement between the U.S. - as host country - and the United Nations, which obliges Washington to allow diplomats and members of government delegations to enter the country if they want to go to the UN headquarters.
However, the diplomats' freedom of movement can be limited to only a few blocks around the UN building.
There have been temporary delays in the issuing of visas in the past by the U.S., recently with Iran, for example.
This year's UN general debate is due to begin on September 20 and is to run for a week. So far, more than 150 heads of state and government have announced plans to attend.