Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to launch an arbitration procedure against the United States, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.
"The minister drew the secretary general's attention to the continued violations by the United States of its obligations under the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement, including refusals to issue visas to diplomats from Russia and other countries to participate in UN activities," the ministry said in a statement following the meeting between Guterres and Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Lavrov Draws Guterres' Attention to Inadmissibility of 'Double Standards' in UN Work
Lavrov has also drawn the attention of Guterres to the inadmissibility of using "double standards" in the documents of the United Nations with regard to different territories.
"The attention was drawn to the UN secretary general's assurances to refrain from participating in initiatives that do not involve all parties. Sergey Lavrov also pointed to the inadmissibility of using 'double standards' in UN statistical and other documents with regard to different territories," the ministry said.
During the talks, Lavrov and Guterres focused on pressing international issues, as well as various aspects of Russia-UN cooperation. The Russian minister emphasized the need for the UN leadership and all its employees to adhere to the principles of impartiality, the statement said.
Lavrov also urged the UN secretary general to prevent representatives of UN structures from being drawn into politicized initiatives in the context of the Ukraine conflict, the ministry said.
Lavrov and Guterres also discussed the topic of reforming the UN to adapt it to realities, the ministry said, adding that the Russian minister noted the importance of the opinions of all UN member states in carrying out reforms and preserving the intergovernmental nature of the organization, as well as observing the "division of labor" between its main bodies.
Russia expressed its readiness to active to actively participate in the discussions at the Summit of the Future in 2024 and the work on A Pact for the Future — the summit's final document, the ministry said.