Translated material
Brushproof wire
In Russia, the issuance of American non -immigration visas is suspended. This is stated in a statement published by the US Embassy in Moscow.
"In connection with the measures adopted by the Russian Federation to limit the number of employees of the US diplomatic mission in the Russian Federation, starting on August 23, 2017, the procedure for issuing non -immigrant visas throughout Russia will be suspended. The procedure for issuing non -immigration visas will be renewed, but in a significantly reduced volume," the embassy said.
Starting on September 1, interviews will be held only at the US Embassy in Moscow to receive a visa. In US consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok, interviews will be suspended until the subsequent notification.
Previously assigned interviews will be canceled. Those who have already submitted documents for the execution of the US visa will inform you how they will be able to reassign the interview.
"The decision of the Russian side to reduce the number of employees of the US diplomatic mission in the Russian Federation calls into question the seriousness of Russia's desire to improve bilateral relations. We will maintain the number of diplomatic officers at the level necessary to perform the key functions of our diplomatic murals," the embassy emphasized.
Russia will not “tear off evil” on American citizens in response to the decision of the United States to suspend the issuance of visas, said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov. “As for our response actions, as I said, we need to study in detail the decisions that the Americans have been announced today. We’ll see. I can only say one thing - we will not tear off evil on American citizens,” the minister said. “That is, if someone hoped that in this case a bad example would be contagious, then he miscalculated.”
According to Lavrov, the decision of Washington is designed to cause dissatisfaction with Russian citizens by the actions of the authorities. “The first impression is that the American authors of these decisions started another attempt to cause the dissatisfaction of Russian citizens by the actions of the Russian authorities,” said the head of the Foreign Ministry. “This logic is known, this is the logic of those who organize color revolutions and this is the inertia of the Obama administration in its purest form.”
On July 28, Russia, in response to the law on the new US sanctions, suspended the use by the American Embassy of the cottage in the village of Serebryany Bor in the west of Moscow and warehouses on the road street. In addition, Moscow demanded that Washington reduce the number of diplomats and technical employees at the embassy, as well as the Consulate General of up to 455 people - this is how many employees are now working in Russian diplomatic mission in the United States. According to Vladimir Putin, 755 employees of American representative offices will fall under the reduction.
On July 31, the State Department called inappropriately a reduction in the number of diplomatic mission employees. “These actions are not justified and regret,” the department said.
On August 7, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, after negotiations with the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrome, stated that the US administration would have developed a response to the steps taken by Russia by September 1 . However, according to Tillerson, Washington has not yet decided which answer will follow the Demarch of Russia. Tillerson noted that in the negotiations he asked Lavrov “several clarifying questions” about the expulsion of diplomats.