Russia’s Proposal to Move UN Headquarters to Sochi Remains on the Table: MFA Official

Dragon Media News Desk

Russia’s proposal to consider moving the United Nations headquarters to Sochi remains under consideration, Russian Foreign Ministry official Kirill Logvinov has said, citing what Moscow describes as repeated violations by the United States of its obligations as host country.

Logvinov, director of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of International Organizations, made the remarks in an interview with TASS. He said the central issue was whether the host country complied with its international obligations.

The proposal was put forward by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York about a year ago, Logvinov said. He added, however, that although relocating the UN headquarters to another country was theoretically possible, there was no realistic prospect of such an initiative being raised in New York at present.

Logvinov said a potential new site would have to meet extensive requirements, including adequate infrastructure, transport links and security. Relocation would also involve substantial financial costs, making such a move unlikely under current circumstances.

He concluded that there was little interest in what he called an unjustified relocation of the organisation’s headquarters.