WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (NNN-TASS) – Russian ambassador to the U.S. said, Washington had asked 24 Russian diplomats to leave the country by Sept 3, due to visa expiration.
“We received a list of twenty-four diplomats who are expected to leave the country before Sept 3,” Russian Ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, said. “All of them will leave without replacements because Washington abruptly tightened visa issue procedures.”
Antonov said, “Last Dec the State Department unilaterally established a three-year limit on the assignment period for Russian personnel in the United States that, as far as we know, is not applied to any other country.”
U.S. State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, responded that, Antonov’s “characterisation of the situation is not accurate. It’s incorrect.”
“The three-year limit on visa validity for Russians, it’s nothing new. When visas expire, these individuals are expected to leave the country or apply for an extension. That is what is at play here,” he told reporters during a daily briefing.
The Russian ambassador’s interview came two days after the State Department said, it laid off 182 local employees and dozens of contractors at U.S. diplomatic facilities in Russia, as requested by Moscow.
Price yesterday denied the U.S. is using Russian diplomats’ visas to retaliate, saying, “We reserve the right to take appropriate response measures to Russia’s actions.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry, in Apr, announced a complete ban on U.S. diplomatic missions from hiring citizens of Russia or third countries, to administrative and technical posts, in response to U.S. sanctions and expulsion of Russian diplomats.– NNN-TASS
