The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharov accused the United States that they are dealing with the destruction of consular services for issuing visas provided in the territory of the Russian Federation. She stated this on the air Youtube channel “SolovievLive”.
According to the diplomat, the reduction of the United States of the number of diplomatic composition precisely in the direction of issuing a visa – “responsibility, prerogative and the right” of Washington himself. “Why did they decrease in this direction of employees? There would be a question if we did not understand what everything goes. But everything goes to the destruction of US consular services, which they provided on the territory of our country,” said Zakharov.
She called the nonsense of the American side of these actions by the redistribution of people from the consular to other directions, because of which the visas were allegedly issued to the Russians. “This is a nonsense for one simple reason: other areas that they would actively worked, simply no,” said the official representative of the Foreign Ministry.
Zakharova paid attention to the fact that now it is not noticeable to active work on the economic or political, nor in the humanitarian directions of the United States Embassy. “The fact that they removed people from the consular direction, with the provision of consular services, they did it specifically, and it is not necessary to pretend that allegedly bad Russians do not give them the opportunity to issue visas,” – summarized the diplomat.
The tensioned relations between Russia and the United States are reflected in the work of diplomatic departments of both countries not the first year. Another voltage occurred in August, when the United States led the composition of his diplomatic structures in accordance with the new requirements of the Russian government. Now Washington can not hire to work in American embassies and consulates of Russians and citizens of third states. Commenting on the current situation, US Ambassador to Russia John Salvan noted that due to these measures, the numerical composition of American dipms in Russia will decrease to 120 people.
On October 24, the State Department ranked Russians who wish to receive an American visa, to “homeless nationalities” (Eng. Homeless Nationalities). The relevant report was published on the Office website. The text says that citizens of those countries in which the United States does not have an consular office or a political situation of which is considered so unstable that it does not allow employees of diplomsses to consider applications of their citizens visa.
In April, the US Embassy in Moscow suspended the provision of all non-diplomatic non-immigrant visa services.