Lavrov says UN HQ relocation would be 'good'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Apr 2023 08:10
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This comes amid Russia's condemnation on Sunday for the US decision not to issue visas to Lavrov's convoy of Russian reporters to the UN Security Council.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the UN Headquarters in New York, US, on April 24, 2023. (Russian Foreign Ministry/Twitter)

During his visit to the United Nations Headquarters on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested it would be "good" if the organization relocated its headquarters from New York to elsewhere.

When asked about his opinion regarding the relocation, Lavrov told reporters, "I think that would be good for New York."

This comes amid Russia's condemnation on Sunday for the US decision not to issue visas to Lavrov's convoy of Russian reporters to the UN Security Council, which Lavrov said violates the US pledge to protect freedom of speech.

In addition to that, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov admitted that Russia was not the only country facing visa issuance bans with the US being the host country of the UN Security Council and General Assembly which brings world leaders together.

Future of Black Sea Grain Deal

Lavrov, after meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, relayed Russia's intentions to study suggestions to improve the Black Sea Grain Deal, after Guterres' handed a letter addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the improvement.

"He [Guterres] conveyed his thoughts to us in the form of a letter, which outlined ideas on how to proceed," Lavrov said, stating in the meeting that the nature of the deal, alongside facilitating Ukrainian grain transports, should not impede Russia's agricultural exports while stressing the West's hesitance to fulfill provisions of the grain deal for the exports.

"I frankly told Antonio Guterres that we have not yet seen any desire from Western countries to take real steps to successfully implement the initiative of the Secretary-General on a package approach to the export of agricultural products from Ukraine and the Russian Federation," Lavrov said.

Preserving domination

Lavrov proclaimed that the US carried out multiple attempts to prove to the world that it remains the leading power of the global world order by "punishing those unsubmissive" and has used the International Monetary Fund as a tool to do so.

"Now, clearly and openly the International Monetary Fund has morphed into a tool for the achievement of the goals of the United States and their allies, including goals of military nature," Lavrov stated, highlighting that the world has once "again" reached a stage that prevailed in the Cold War, which is the "dangerous, possibly even more dangerous threshold."