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US, Canada pushing medical discrimination against Russian diplomats, says Moscow

Yevgeny Ivanov also pointed to the shutdown of a number of Russian consulates and the expulsion of a considerable number of diplomatic mission employees

Russian Foreign Ministry Valery Sharifulin/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. The United States, Canada and some European countries are forcing their companies to cut Russian diplomats’ healthcare contracts, Russian State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov told TASS.

"The US, Canada and some European countries seek to impede Russian overseas missions’ access to their bank accounts, impose restrictions on property insurance and push local firms to cut contracts on healthcare and other services, which also hinders the normal operation of diplomatic missions," the deputy foreign minister noted.

According to Ivanov, these actions sometimes force Moscow to take tit-for-tat measures, which usually have "a sobering" effect.

The deputy foreign minister also pointed to the shutdown of a number of Russian consulates and the expulsion of a considerable number of diplomatic mission employees. "However, they won’t let us fill staff gaps at the overseas facilities," he stressed. "As a result, the normal operation of Russia’s overseas diplomatic missions has been significantly hampered," Ivanov added. "Still, despite all the artificially created barriers, Russian diplomats continue to defend our country’s interests even under the most difficult situations," Ivanov emphasized.

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