The United States has denied a visa to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov, who had been set to attend open debates of the U.N. Security Council, Russia’s permanent representative to the organization, Vasily Nebenzya, said.

Nebenzya added that the Russian delegation had been invited by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi — China has held the Security Council presidency since May 1.

The visa denial, Nebenzya said, amounted not only to Washington’s violation of its obligations but also to “a flagrant disrespect for China’s presidency.”

After Donald Trump began his second presidential term, Russia’s diplomatic relations with the United States warmed noticeably compared to the previous four years. Trump’s special envoys flew to Moscow on multiple occasions, and the U.S. temporarily lifted sanctions on the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev — whom Vladimir Putin appointed as his special representative — in order to allow the State Department to issue him a visa. Dmitriev subsequently made several trips to the U.S. and met there with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. However, official representatives of Russian delegations are periodically denied visas — and according to Nebenzya, the Alimov case is not the first such instance.