Russia Not Impeding Recruitment to US Embassy, to Consider Any Visa Applications: Russian Envoy

 / Go to the mediabankRussian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov / Go to the mediabankWASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Russia is not impeding the recruitment process of new staff to the US embassy in Moscow and is ready to consider any visa applications, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has said.”We are not creating any obstacles or barriers to the expansion of personnel of the American embassy in Moscow… We are ready to consider any applications and ready to exchange visas on a mutually acceptable basis, although we believe that the situation with the work of the Russian embassy here [in Washington] and, of course, our counterparts in Moscow should have been normalized long time ago,” Antonov told journalists.The ambassador added that Russian diplomats do not have “a single application for consular staff at the US Embassy in Moscow.” The American embassy has long suspended consular services to Russians, including issuing visas, citing a shortage of personnel as the reason.The US State Department has said earlier that Washington and Moscow were in contact regarding lifting some of the restrictions that made it difficult for embassies to operate.Moscow sees no desire on the part of the United States to sever bilateral ties and hopes that a new US ambassador to Russia be appointed soon and the embassy in Moscow will become fully operational, Antonov has said.”We proceed from the premise that there is no need to sever contacts and no need to sever diplomatic relations. I think this would be the wrong decision, and, in my opinion, the American side has no desire to sever relations between our two countries,” Antonov told journalists.On September 20, US President Joe Biden nominated Lynne Tracy to be the new Ambassador to Russia, replacing John Sullivan, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2019. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in September that Moscow gave agreement on Tracy’s appointment as US ambassador. However, the Senate has yet to approve the nomination of Tracy to serve as the new ambassador.

Source