Moscow cries foul as US ends visa services for most Russians
- The US embassy in Moscow said it was cutting staff by 75 per cent and stopping processing visas for most Russians from May 12
- The Kremlin spokesman criticised Washington’s ‘unfriendly’ actions
The Kremlin accused Washington on Friday of fuelling tension with “unfriendly actions” after the US embassy in Moscow said it was cutting staff and stopping processing visas for most Russians.
The embassy said it was cutting consular staff by 75 per cent and that from May 12 it would stop processing non-immigrant visas for non-diplomatic travel after a new Russian law imposed limits on how many local staff can work at foreign diplomatic missions.
That means Russians, who are not diplomats or green card seekers, will no longer be able to apply inside their own country for visas to visit the US for tourism and other purposes. They will have to make such applications in third countries instead if they need to.
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The Russian foreign ministry pointed out that Russian consulates in the US were still issuing visas within 10 days despite suffering diplomatic cutbacks themselves and said there was nothing to stop Washington from topping up staff by bringing in American nationals.
It said the US diplomatic staff quota in Russia stood at 455, but that there were only 280 accredited employees, giving Washington ample room to top up staff numbers.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the embassy’s decision would have little practical impact because Russians have already been struggling to get US visas.
“You know, here one has to look at the root cause of the tense situation that is developing in our bilateral relations,” Peskov told reporters.