WASHINGTON, November 11. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov on Friday described as "a step in the right direction" the US Treasury Department’s publication of a general license, allowing banks to process financial transactions for Russian diplomatic offices abroad.

"On the whole, we consider the decision by the US administration to lift financial restrictions on Russian diplomatic missions to be a step in the right direction, although belated," the ambassador said in a statement, posted on the embassy’s official Telegram channel.

"It took a lot of work to bring Washington to realize the significant damage that sanctions inflict on our diplomats around the world. We hope that banks will correctly perceive the signal from the financial regulator and stop blocking the transactions necessary to ensure the normal functioning of Russian diplomatic institutions," he added.

The US Department of the Treasury published a general license on Thursday, allowing US companies and individuals to engage in financial operations needed to ensure the work of Russian diplomatic missions. Among other things, the department permitted to participate in transactions necessary for paying salaries and reimbursing expenses of Russian embassy staffers. However, the license is not applicable to transactions involving blacklisted Russian individuals and financial institutions.