PoliticsMay 27, 2026 11:06 am • 2 min readRussia's UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya at the UN Headquarters in New York, on March 31, 2026. (Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images)The U.S. denied a visa to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov, who was expected to attend a United Nations Security Council meeting, Russia's UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya said on May 26. Speaking during the Security Council session, chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Nebenzya called the decision a violation of U.S. obligations as the host country of the United Nations.Nebenzya also described the refusal as an "egregious instance of disrespect" toward China's presidency of the Security Council and the meeting's focus on the UN Charter."Despite all of our attempts to persuade the U.S. side to issue a visa to him, that visa was ultimately not granted," Nebenzya said.Alimov, who became deputy minister under Sergey Lavrov in late 2025, previously headed the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Multilateral Humanitarian Cooperation and Cultural Ties. He has worked within Russia's Foreign Ministry since 1993.Earlier, Alimov told Russian pro-state outlet Izvestia that Moscow believes UN member states are becoming fatigued by continued focus on Russia's war against Ukraine at international forums."We sense that member states are growing weary of the Ukrainian issue being pushed upon them," he said, referring to discussions in the UN General Assembly, Security Council, and other bodies.The incident is the latest in a series of visa disputes between Washington and Moscow involving Russian officials traveling to the United States.In April, Nebenzya said the U.S. denied a visa to a Russian representative who planned to attend a session of the UN General Assembly's Committee on Information.In March, Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Russian Parliament's International Affairs Committee, was also denied a visa while attempting to travel to the U.S. as part of a Russian delegation.