SAO PAULO, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Brazil said Friday that the United States barred Brazilian Health Minister Alexandre Padilha from attending a Pan American Health Organization meeting in Washington by restricting his visa.

Padilha received a visa to join Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the UN General Assembly in New York next week, but it limits him to a small perimeter around the UN headquarters and his hotel, preventing him from traveling to Washington.

Calling the restrictions "unacceptable," Padilha said he would remain in Brazil. The Health Ministry described the move as arbitrary and said Brazil's participation in the meeting is vital to a regional vaccine initiative with Argentina and Mexico.

The United States has recently imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court justices and raised tariffs on Brazilian goods, moves tied to former President Jair Bolsonaro's conviction for attempting a coup. ■