Ex-USP of the United States asked to remove sanctions from him and allow him to enter Russia

The former ambassador of the United States in Moscow, Michael McFol, asked to remove sanctions from him and allow him to enter Russia, where he has "many friends." He transmitted the request to the head of the Russian diplomatic mission to Anatoly Antonov during the meeting.

McFol emphasized that with "impatience" is waiting for the opportunity to visit the country in the near future. “I have many friends in Russia. I lived in Russia for several years. You know that I am under sanctions. I discussed this with Antonov so that I could come to Russia,” RIA Novosti quotes him.

Antonov is currently making a trip to the state of California, which will last until December 3. With McFol, he met at Stanford University, where he works after leaving his diplomatic work.

Makfol was an American ambassador in Moscow from 2012 to 2014. Moscow included ex-diplomat in the sanctions list after the United States introduced restrictions on the accession of Crimea to Russia, which in the West is considered annexation.

The ambassador believes that restrictive measures against him were introduced because of his "close ties with (president) Obama" and in revenge for sanctions against "people close to Putin." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that under sanctions he was due to the fact that he deliberately harmed bilateral relations. In particular, this was mentioned by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova in the program "Sunday evening" on the TV channel "Russia 1".

Ambassadors for a positive agenda

During the meeting with Antonov, McFol expressed the opinion that Russia and the United States should resume contacts between the legislative bodies. The ex-diplomat promised that he would recommend his "friends in politics" to take appropriate steps.

“Yes, I believe that people need to meet. I support any contacts. I will talk with my friends in politics,” McFol said.

Also, the former US Ambassador to Russia said that he would call American congressmen to meet with Antonov. "I do not agree with this decision (the refusal of the congressmen to meet with Antonov). And I will call them (meet with the ambassador). I have many friends in the US Congress, including Democrats. I think this is important," he said.

Antonov previously mentioned that he hopes to establish contacts in Washington and contribute to the development of bilateral relations.

McFol mentioned that during a meeting with the Russian diplomat he was surprised at the ban on the State Department to provide an opinion on access to Russia's diplomatic property in San Francisco. “I am simply not a lawyer, so I don’t know what is right and what is wrong. I think you know if we confiscate this property, then we must at least explain why,” he concluded.