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Moscow invites US to send diplomats for consular services in Russia — diplomat

According to Ryabkov, "this downward spiral in terms of personnel serving in either country may well end that even embassies will be even closed in Washington and in Moscow, if we do not stop"

NEW YORK, November 3. /TASS/. Russia invites the United States to send more diplomats to Moscow to normalize the process of rendering consular services, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the online Fort Ross Dialogue forum on Tuesday.

"In Russia, US diplomatic and consular presence is now diminished to a level where it is simply not possible to offer some very basic services of consular character, like issuing visas to Russian citizens, who need to travel to the US. It is required by the US side for our citizens to travel abroad, literally outside of Russia to apply for an American visa," he said. "This is a completely intolerable situation, and we invite and urge the US side to augment the US embassy in Moscow and send more officers to at least ensure that consular service here, in Russia is somewhat normalized."

According to Ryabkov, "this downward spiral in terms of personnel serving in either country may well end that even embassies will be even closed in Washington and in Moscow, if we do not stop."

"We want this to stop," he added. "We strongly urge the US administration <…> to reconsider and engage with us in a meaningful dialogue where we nullify mutual requirements and start from scratch to build up and not moving further down."

In response to the anti-Russian sanctions announced by Washington in April and yet another expulsion of Russian diplomats, Moscow introduced restrictions on hiring Russian and third country citizens by US diplomatic missions.

The US Embassy in Moscow reported that from May 12 it would reduce the number of consular services, including suspending the consideration of documents for visas that are not intended for diplomatic travel. The issuance of visas to the diplomats also slowed down visibly. Since August 1, the US Embassy in Russia has been operating with a skeleton staff of 120 employees.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that nobody was preventing the US embassy from filling up the quota of 455 diplomats through staff from the US.