Nebenzia admitted that it would be very difficult to move the UN headquarters from New York

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said that the United States would never support the idea of ​​moving the UN headquarters from New York. He noted that it is difficult to enlist the support of the majority of member countries of the international organization in this matter.

“To do this, you need the consent of at least two-thirds of the UN member states. Due to a number of circumstances, it is very difficult to achieve such a number of those who support the transfer of the headquarters, ”Mr. Nebenzya told RIA Novosti.

Vasily Nebenzya noted that the American side would never agree to the transfer of the headquarters, because “for them it is also a prestige.” The permanent representative believes that the location of the UN headquarters in one of the largest American cities gives the United States the opportunity to “abuse its obligations as the host country of the organization, as well as a lot of money.” According to Mr. Nebenzi, New York receives $ 5 billion a year due to the fact that the UN headquarters is located here, and from the fact that diplomats from 193 countries live in the city.

According to Vasily Nebenzya, the topic of relocating the headquarters “occasionally arises and has arisen.” “During my previous stay here on a long business trip (from 1996 to 2000. — “b”) has been actively discussed. Many countries at that time demanded that the Americans perform the duties of the host country of the organization and talked about whether we should move the organization to another place. Even some cities were named, such as Bonn, for example, which actively offered its services, Geneva and other points,” the permanent representative said.

Russian diplomats, officials and members spoke of the need to move the UN headquarters from New York at the end of April. On April 24, Pyotr Ilyichev, director of the department of international organizations at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that Moscow would prefer to see the UN headquarters “in a more neutral point” than New York. He cited Geneva or Vienna as an example.

The reason for the discussion of moving the headquarters from New York was the failure by the American side to issue visas to Russian journalists who were supposed to accompany Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on a trip. Moscow is confident that the United States does not comply with the terms of the 1947 agreements, so it is better to move the headquarters.

For more information about the UN Headquarters, see Kommersant’s article “You don’t have an apartment here, the climate is different here.”

Milena Kostereva