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Russia shows composure and good sense in possible response to US on visas — diplomat

According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov noted that the US is gradually turning into its own antipode

MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. Russia displays composure and good sense in its possible response to the US on restriction of US visa issuance to Russians, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with Chinese and Japanese mass media.

"We also show composure and common sense regarding possible response to the US actions that seriously hinder the normal procedure for receiving visas by Russian citizens for visiting the US (the US suspended visa issuance on August 23 across Russia and renewed release of documents on September 1 only for Moscow - TASS)," Ryabkov said. "Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated without delay on how we regard these actions."

"It seems the country that has always been ahead of the curve in the fight for the freedom of movement across the world has also demonstrated sheer opportunism and relativism in its political approach to this sphere, along with the very same tendency to sacrifice its core values for the political environment," the Russian deputy foreign minister noted.

"Now that they, being probably afraid that too many Russians will see what the US is like from inside, deprive Russian citizens from the possibility to get visas easily and freely, [they] demonstrate that the US is gradually turning into its own antipode," he went on. "The antipode of those values that the Founding Fathers proclaimed back in their days."

This may be regarded differently, Ryabkov said, depending on political preference. "For some this is a moment when they pop champagne, because the US is destroying itself. For others this is a stressful moment, because it is becoming hard to tap into some American values and amenities," the Russian deputy foreign minister noted.