MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. The United States should stop exerting pressure on Russian diplomats, because at the moment Washington is juggling with terms, which hinders the dialogue between the two countries, the chairman of the State Duma's international affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky, told TASS on Tuesday.
"Time is ripe for the US Department of State to stop playing the shell game and juggling with terms. What we have been able to see so far is not measures to balance the operation of missions, contrary to what the US Department of State's spokesman Ned Price has been saying, but the outrageous contempt of diplomatic norms," Slutsky said.
He recalled that last April the US, under President Joe Biden's decree, imposed another portion of anti-Russian sanctions and expelled ten Russian diplomats on the pretext of their alleged connections with intelligence services. "Moscow, as is usually done in these situations, declared ten US embassy staffers in Russia personae non gratae," Slutsky said. Also, it prohibited US diplomatic missions from hiring Russian citizens or personnel from third counties.
"At this point the following clarification has to be made: the US quota is 455 embassy staffers. As our ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov has remarked fairly enough, Washington is free to use this quota to the full extent. In the meantime, in the United States Russia has 450 diplomats - 150 of them at the UN mission and only 300 at embassies and consulates," Slutsky said.
"The United States argues that the ban on hiring local personnel will upset the embassy's normal operation. Does that mean that the US Department of State has problems with personnel shortages? Sad news, but that's not our problem," Slutsky said.
He also remarked that the United States "instead of canceling all of the restrictions previously imposed on Russian diplomats and returning illegally seized Russian properties has been using visas as a means of pressure."
"Russian embassy staffers are denied visa prolongation. New visas are not issued. Newly appointed personnel are unable to fly to the United States and a humiliating three-year limit on the assignment period of Russian diplomats has been introduced. In the meantime, the Department of State plays innocent and says that everything is all right and that these are normal procedures," Slutsky said.
In his opinion, this all runs counter to the agreements that were achieved at the summit meeting of Russian and US presidents in Geneva.
"Washington should stop putting pressure on the diplomatic corps. The situation must be improved as soon as possible. Otherwise all statements by the US side on the need to maintain communication channels will remain on paper and in statements for the press," Slutsky said.
Visa disputes
Earlier, Russia's ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov told National Interest magazine in an interview that Washington last December handed Moscow a list of 24 Russian diplomats who would have to return home by September 3 due to a unilaterally established three-year limit on the assignment period for Russian personnel in the US. Also, the ambassador said the US authorities were canceling valid visas issued to staffers' wives and children without explaining the reasons.
US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said the US did not wish an escalation of tensions in relations with Russia regarding the conditions established for the two countries' diplomats. He argued that the restrictions on the duration of assignments were aimed at balancing the missions' operation. Antonov replied that Russia lately issued 22 visas to US embassy staffers in Moscow, while Washington prolonged a visa only for one counselor-envoy, which runs counter to the previously achieved agreement. A US embassy spokesperson has recommended Russians file applications for non-immigration visas at US embassies in other countries.