MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/. Russia is working toward opening diplomatic missions in South Sudan, Niger and Sierra Leone, Alexey Klimov, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department, said in an interview with Parlamentskaya Gazeta.

"The activity aimed at increasing the Russian diplomatic and consular presence in friendly countries is ongoing. Decisions to open [Russian] embassies have already been made or coordinated with the authorities in Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea, and general consulates [will be opened] in Kapan (Armenia), Aktau (Kazakhstan), Samarkand (Uzbekistan), Denpasar (Indonesia) and Male (the Maldives). And we are working toward opening diplomatic missions in South Sudan, Niger and Sierra Leone in the future," the diplomat said.

According to Klimov, in 2023, almost 30,000 temporary entrance (return) permits were issued abroad and over 460,000 foreign passports were issued.

He also said that, unlike diplomatic agencies in some Western countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry has refrained from assigning artificial "ratings" or "anti-ratings," which he said are often politicized, to foreign nations.