United Nations, December 27 (RHC)-- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has been alarmed by Washington delaying the visa application process for Russian officials, his spokesman told TASS, a day after the Russian Foreign Ministry slammed Guterres for inaction.

Guterres will “closely follow” the ongoing visa dispute that particularly affects Russian officials designated to work at the UN Headquarters in New York, his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told the news agency.

Dujarric said the issue has been repeatedly raised by UN officials and even mentioned in the latest report by the UN Committee on Relations with the Host Country.  The UN committee’s report indeed mentions the matter of “non-issuance of entry visas to certain representatives of certain Member States,” calling on Washington to tackle this problem and respect diplomatic norms.

These calls, however, have so far, apparently, remained unanswered.  The visa dispute has flared since at least September, when several members of the Russian delegation were denied their visas at the time the UN General Assembly was convening in New York.

On Wednesday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused the secretary general of “turning a blind eye” to what it called “administrative pressure” used by the United States against Russia.  Earlier, Moscow also raised the issue directly with Washington.  U.S. President Donald Trump said at that time that he was not aware of the situation and vowed to “deal with it.”