Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov accused the US on Monday of "grossly abusing" its status as the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. He said that "Russian participation is discriminated against" and that Russian representatives have been denied visas to attend a series of events held in Seattle.
Antonov also claimed that Russian government officials are denied participation via video link and that the US is "politicizing discussions by drawing non-core topics into the agenda." He expressed concerns about the summit in San Francisco in November and insisted that the US issue "all permits to our representatives to enter the United States at the time indicated by them, and not at the last moment, as is often the case in American practice, when visas are issued during an already ongoing, and sometimes completed, event."
