Russian diplomats have scuppered plans for Kevin Spacey's hit political drama House Of Cards to be filmed in the United Nations (U.N.) building in New York.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suggested that allowing the Netflix series to be shot in the Security Council chamber would help raise public awareness of the organisation, and British diplomat Michael Tatham emailed his council counterparts to ask them to share their opinions.

In an email obtained by Foreignpolicy.com, Tatham writes, "The U.N. Department of Public Information is of the view that cooperating with the production would provide an excellent opportunity to raise awareness among a large audience around the world regarding the world of the Security Council, and of the organisation in general."

However, Russia's Mikael Agasandyan put a halt on the shoot by insisting the council's offices should be available at all times in case of an emergency.

He wrote in a reply, "Upon thorough reflection, we are objecting to the proposed filming in the Security Council. We are of (the) opinion that the Security Council premises should be available at any time and on short notice. Besides that, we consistently insist that the Security Council premises are not an appropriate place for filming, staging, etc."