Russia lashes out at US over visa dispute

Bloomberg

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lashed out at the US and its allies as a dispute over Washington’s refusal to issue some visas for officials from Russia attending the UN General Assembly fuelled tensions between the former Cold War enemies.
Lavrov said he raised the issue with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo after a dozen members of Russia’s delegation didn’t receive US visas, mirroring treatment handed to Iran.
The top Russian diplomat has warned of unspecified retaliation and questioned the location of the world body’s headquarters because of the US violation of its obligations to offer unhindered access to the UN. He accused unnamed US officials of sabotaging efforts by President Donald Trump to improve ties with Russia — and avoided blaming the president directly for visa disagreement.
“I don’t have the slightest doubt that neither President Trump nor Secretary of State Pompeo had anything to with this, which Mike Pompeo confirmed to me,” Lavrov told reporters in New York.
Lavrov blamed the visa refusals on “a bureaucracy which was bred on anti-Sovietism and now Russophobia, and which wants to block any positive signals coming from the White House about the need to build normal relations with Russia.”
The controversy comes after the dismissal of US National Security Advisor John Bolton, a move cheered in Moscow.
The US and Russia remain at odds over a range of issues, from arms control, Kremlin support for allies in Syria and Venezuela to the American policy of ”maximum pressure” on Iran.
Lavrov also criticised Washington for its failure so far to enter into talks on extending New START, which restricts the size of the US and Russian nuclear arsenals and expires in 2021.