NEW YORK (UN). Oct 17 (Interfax) - Russia has held informal consultations with other countries and has prepared a draft document that proposes holding meetings of the United Nations General Assembly First Committee, which deals with disarmament and related issues of international security, in Geneva or Vienna instead of the United States, deputy head of the Russian delegation to the committee and Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN Office in Geneva Andrei Belousov told Interfax.
"Such a draft [decision on transferring the First Committee's work] has been prepared. We have even held informal consultations. The delegations which wanted to familiarize themselves with our position came to these consultations," he said.
"There has been no order thus far not to submit it. We will be acting in accordance with our instructions," the Russian diplomat said.
An Interfax correspondent reported that the delegations have until 4:00 p.m. New York time on Thursday to submit draft resolutions and draft decisions concerning all points on the agenda to the UN General Assembly First Committee.
Belousov told reporters earlier that Russia would officially suggest holding the committee's meetings in places other than New York due to Washington's refusal to issue U.S. visas to a number of delegations.
Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky on October 3 in the UN raised the possibility of holding the committee's next session in Vienna or Geneva instead of the U.S.
"For the purpose of normalizing the activity of the First Committee and the UNDC (United Nations Disarmament Commission), we deem it necessary to consider a venue outside the U.S. territory, for instance, Vienna or Geneva, for holding their sessions in 2020," Polyansky said at the meeting of the UN General Assembly's First Committee in his comments on procedural issues.
The U.S. authorities have refused to issue visas to 18 members of the Russian delegation to the current session of the UN General Assembly.