Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation to the UN General Assembly, scheduled for the end of September in New York, the Kremlin announced on Monday. President Vladimir Putin does not intend to travel to the UNGA or even address the event online. It is unclear whether the US will allow Lavrov and another member of the delegation to enter the country, even for the UN event.
There are “no plans” for Putin to travel to the US or address the world body, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday. Instead, the Russian president signed a directive designating Lavrov as the head of the Russian delegation.
He will be accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and Russian permanent representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia, as well as Senator Grigory Karasin and Duma deputy Leonid Slutsky, who chair the foreign affairs committees of their respective parliamentary chambers.
The US government sanctioned Slutsky in March 2014, over his support for Crimea rejoining Russia. Lavrov was added to the sanctions list on February 25, as Washington accused him of being “directly responsible for Russia’s unprovoked and unlawful further invasion” of Ukraine. Russia has dismissed the embargo by the US and its allies as unilateral and illegitimate.