Palestinian Authorities Withdraw UNGA Vice President Nomination

UNITED NATIONS, May 21. /TASS/. The Palestinian authorities withdrew the nomination of their permanent observer to the UN, Riyad Mansour, for the position of vice president of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, La Neice Collins, spokeswoman for the office of the 80th session’s president, said.

"The nomination of the State of Palestine for a UNGA Vice President position for the 81st session has been withdrawn," she wrote in an email to reporters.

At the same time, the spokeswoman noted that the UN General Assembly’s presidential office has received a nomination for this post from Lebanon.

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that the US was threatening to revoke the visas of Palestinian diplomats at the UN, seeking to force Mansour to withdraw his candidacy for the post of vice president of the General Assembly. Palestine’s permanent observer to the UN had previously withdrawn his candidacy for president of the General Assembly.

In late April, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya emphasized that the US continues to abuse its status as the host country of the UN headquarters. The diplomat noted that despite the timely submission of documents, a representative of the Russian delegation had not been issued an entry visa to participate in the 48th session of the UN General Assembly’s Committee on Information. Nebenzya expressed hope that the UN Secretariat would take comprehensive measures to end this politicized practice, including initiating arbitration proceedings.