Amid reports that Russia’s foreign minister is trying to secure a visa to attend a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York in September, U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) called on the U.S. State Department to step up and deny any such requests from top Russian officials to enter the United States.
“The Russian Federation has forfeited its right to be treated as a responsible member of the international community,” Rep. Wagner wrote in an Aug. 31 letter sent to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Its ongoing participation in international forums threatens to delegitimize these organizations, whose express purpose is to safeguard global security and enforce peaceful relations between states.”
The congresswoman pointed out in her letter that restricting or denying the visas of UN representatives that pose a threat to the national security interests of the U.S. and its allies is required under the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1990, and the federal government has exercised such authority several times, most recently in January 2020 when former President Barack Obama denied visas for an Iranian foreign minister and UN ambassador.
“I urge you to follow suit in sending an unequivocal message to the Putin regime that their participation in the upcoming United Nations General Assembly meeting is unwelcome,” wrote Rep. Wagner.
Similarly, Rep. Wagner in March sponsored the bipartisan Isolate Russian Government Officials Act of 2022, H.R. 6891, which has 10 cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Tom Cole (R-OK), Andy Barr (R-KY), and Brad Sherman (D-CA).
If enacted, H.R. 6891 would require the U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System “to take all necessary steps” to exclude Russian government officials from certain international meetings, including the activities of the Group of 20, the Basel Committee for Banking Standards, and the Bank for International Settlements, according to the congressional record bill summary.
“This important bill overwhelmingly passed the United States House of Representatives in May 2022, and then again in July as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023,” wrote Rep. Wagner. “The House has made a strong statement that the United States must hold Russia accountable for their actions and isolate Russian officials from the world stage.
“We must continue to punish Putin and Russia for the brutality of their invasion and the potential war crimes they are committing,” she wrote.