MOSCOW. Aug 26 (Interfax) - A senior official of the Russian Defense Ministry has failed to attend a peacekeeping event at the UN headquarters due to the late issue of a U.S. visa, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Interfax on Wednesday.
He said the incident happened several months before Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko and her delegation applied for U.S. visas.
"A similar situation happened several months ago when a senior official of the Russian Defense Ministry failed to attend an event organized by the UN headquarters and dedicated to the peacekeeping activity of the organization. The American authorities delayed the visa issue until the day of his departure and the visa was issued only in the morning, which prevented our representative from participating in that event," Gatilov said.