NEW YORK (UN). Oct 16 (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gennady Kuzmin has said he regrets that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres did not attend the special meeting of the UN Committee on Relations with the Host Country which addressed the non-issuance of U.S. visas to a number of national delegations.
"The reputation of the UN Secretariat and the secretary general personally is at stake. It is a pity that he [the Secretary General] did not consider it possible to attend today's meeting in person," Kuzmin said.
Guterres was represented by Under Secretary General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel Miguel de Serpa Soares.
Guterres was expected to attend the Committee meeting; however, he was absent, an Interfax correspondent reported.