US plans to close last two remaining consulates in Russia
- The State Department’s note to Congress said the closures were due to caps placed by Russia in 2017 on the number of US diplomats allowed to work in the country
- Following the closures, the only diplomatic facility the US will have in Russia will be the embassy in Moscow
The Trump administration has notified Congress that it intends to shut the last two remaining US consulates in Russia.
The US State Department told lawmakers last week that it would permanently close the consulate in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok and temporarily suspend operations at the consulate in Yekaterinburg just east of the Ural Mountains.
The notice was sent to Congress on December 10 but received little attention at the time. That timing predates by three days the public emergence of news about a major suspected Russian computer intrusion into US government and private computer systems that has raised grave cybersecurity fears.
The department’s notification to Congress, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, said the closures were due to caps placed by Russian authorities in 2017 on the number of US diplomats allowed to work in the country.
The moves are “in response to ongoing staffing challenges of the US Mission in Russia in the wake of the 2017 Russian-imposed personnel cap on the US Mission and resultant impasse with Russia over diplomatic visas”, it said.