Meeting Between UN Official and Wanted Russian Raises Concerns in Washington

On Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that "the United States is extremely concerned about a meeting that took place between a senior UN official on children's issues and a Russian individual wanted by the International Criminal Court." He said, "We are very concerned because a senior diplomat at the UN met with a rogue figure wanted based on an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes against children." He considered that "this behavior undermines our shared commitment to protecting children in conflict zones." The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, held a meeting with Maria Lvova-Belova, who is accused of war crimes for transferring hundreds of Ukrainian children to Russia.