MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/: France has scuttled Russia’s participation in the 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference by not issuing visas to members of the Russian delegation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.
"We have to draw attention to France’s blatant disregard of its obligation to grant visas to Russian delegates who were supposed to take part in the work of UNESCO steering bodies. Such behavior has become systemic. As a result, Alexander Alimov, deputy head of the delegation and director of the Russian foreign ministry’s multilateral humanitarian cooperation and cultural ties department, as well as a member of the Russian commission on the UNESCO affairs in charge of information and communication issues cannot attend meetings of the 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference, which opened in Paris on November 7," she said.
According to Zakharova, the commission’s executive secretary, Tatiana Dovgalenko, failed to attend a meeting of national commissions of the UNESCO member states ahead of the General Conference due to delays in getting her visa. "These episodes are examples of a range of similar blatant cases. In recent months, a number of Russian representatives have been barred from participating in the organization’s international events in Paris without any explanation," she stressed.
"We consider Paris’ violation of the provisions of this document (agreements between France and UNESCO regarding the UNESCO’s headquarters and the privileges and immunities of the Organization on French territory - TASS) as arbitrary and a disregard of the norms of international law. We call on UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay to intervene in this situation and take concrete measures to make France fulfill its obligations," Zakharova added.
