WASHINGTON, January 7. /TASS/. New US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy will attempt to expand staff at the US Embassy in Moscow so it can improve performance including potentially resume visa issuance, US State Department Spokesman Ned Price said on Friday.

"Her focus will be to provide leadership to the embassy to maintain this bilateral relationship in a period of extraordinarily heightened tensions and to work with the Russian government to improve staffing at the US Embassy platform, so that our embassy can perform basic functions, like potentially even visa issuance," he said at a news conference.

Price also made the following statement, "When it comes to visa services, our inability to provide visa services in Russia is due to actions by the Russian government. In April 2021 the Russian government made it illegal for our embassy in Moscow to employ both Russian nationals and third-country nationals. That determination alone meant that we had to separate over 180 employees. Many of those employees were previously in our consular section where that visa processing takes place. These cuts greatly affected our operations across the board. They impeded our ability to provide visa services; they constrained our ability to engage with the Russian government and the Russian people. We believe it’s in the interests of both our countries, in the United States and in Russia, to have fully effective, functioning missions in our respective countries, including the ability to provide visa services."

Speaking about irritants in the Russian-US relations, Price said that "it’s a very long list." He said they include the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it was ready to work constructively with the US on the issues related to the performance of diplomatic missions and visa issuance to staff.