MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. The three-year limit of stay is only a part of Washington’s unlawful actions targeting Russia’s diplomatic missions to the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told the Rossiya-1 TV channel on Tuesday.
"When we asked them [US Department of State officials] whether such restrictions are in place for diplomats of other states as well, they remained silent. Once again, I would like to stress that this issue is only a part of inadequate and unlawful activities, which the United States is conducting against Russian diplomats and diplomatic missions," she said.
In an interview with the National Interest magazine, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that in December 2020, Washington submitted a list of 24 diplomats, who must leave the United States by September 3, 2021, due a three-year limit on Russian diplomats’ stay in that country unilaterally imposed by the US. Moreover, the diplomat said the US authorities have been terminating valid visas issued to family members of Russian diplomats without any explanation.
In response, the US Department of State said it was not seeking escalation with Russia in the diplomatic sphere, and those restrictions were aimed at balancing the work of diplomatic missions. At the same time, according to the Russian ambassador, Moscow issued 22 Russian visas to US embassy staffers lately, while Washington extended permits only to one Russian diplomat. This runs counter to a previous agreement, Antonov said.