Sanctioned Russian Interior Minister attends UN meeting in New York

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev in Moscow, Russia on April 2, 2024. (Russian Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev arrived in New York on June 26 to participate in a U.N. summit of police chiefs (UNCOPS-2024), said ministry spokesperson Irina Volk.

The U.S. announced sanctions against Kolokoltsev and other top Russian officials on Feb. 25, 2022, the day after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Despite being sanctioned, Kolokoltsev does not appear on the U.S. Treasury's list of individuals barred from entering the U.S.

According to a U.N. press release, UNCOPS-2024, which runs from June 26 to 27, aims "to engage on strengthening international peace, security, and development for all through the unifying power and enabling role of national and U.N. policing."

Volk also said that Kolokoltsev held bilateral meetings, including with the U.N.'s Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

Volk said that Kolokoltsev had spoken with Lacroix about the reported Ukrainian strike earlier in June on Sevastopol, occupied Crimea, and called for a U.N. assessment.

Russia's Defense Ministry has claimed that Ukraine used U.S.-supplied weapons in the attack, which allegedly killed four people and injured 151. The reports could not be independently verified.

Kolokoltsev also reportedly discussed the rise in "Russophobic sentiments" around the world with Lacroix.

Russia's Interior Ministry is "open to cooperation on the entire range of peacekeeping issues," Volk concluded.