Secretary-General of the Russian Commission for UNESCO Grigory Ordzhonikidze said, as quoted by Sputnik, that UNESCO refuses to create newly affiliated schools in Russia under several implausible pretexts.

"All of our applications for new UNESCO academic departments and associated schools have been rejected," Ordzhonikidze said.

The official also called the UNESCO Secretariat's unwillingness to openly denounce the murder of Russian journalist Daria Dugina "outrageous."

"Apparently, this is because they can now forgive Ukrainians anything, even terrorist attacks," the diplomat said.

Such judgments, according to Ordzhonikidze, harm UNESCO's image and global stature.

The UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) was established in 1953 to allegedly increase public knowledge of the United Nations and UNESCO, advocate the preservation of cultural and natural heritage, and promote human rights. The USSR joined the initiative in 1966.

This comes after the UNESCO Secretariat did not allow Russia to participate in a conference on media freedom on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day last May.

It is also worth noting that a meeting of the United Nations Cultural Organization's World Heritage Committee (UNESCO), which was due to be held in Russia in June, has been postponed indefinitely, following weeks of heated diplomatic problems precipitated by the war in Ukraine.