The US Embassy will resume visa interviews in three Russian cities

Photo: The official website of the President of Russia

Interviews for an American visa will soon be resumed at US consulates in three Russian cities: St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok.

This was stated by US Ambassador to Russia John Huntsman during a round table at the American consulate in Yekaterinburg, reports TASS.

At the same time, Huntsman did not specify when the visa interviews at the consulates would be resumed, noting that this would happen “in the near future.”

The diplomat recalled that after a corresponding order from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the American Embassy “was forced to reduce staff by 60%, which had a significant effect on the ability to issue visas.”

“The US Embassy in Moscow has 24 visa interview windows, which is great, but unfortunately there are barely enough staff for 12 windows. But we are trying to do our best, and I hope that in the next few weeks we will be able to issue visas more efficiently both in Moscow and at our three consulates,” Huntsman said.

He also said that he is trying to restore confidence in Russian-American relations, despite the fact that Washington will continue sanctions against Russia in connection with the annexation of Crimea and the support of separatists in the east of Ukraine.

Mutual expulsion from the countries of American and Russian diplomats began on December 29 2016 of the year, when 44 of US President Barack Obama signed a decree obliging Russian diplomats 35 to leave America. This document also closed their colleagues with access to two real estate properties in the states of New York and Maryland, which, according to American intelligence, were used by Russians for espionage.

In response, Russia banned the US Embassy from using a summer cottage in Serebryany Bor and storage facilities on Dorozhnaya Street in the south of Moscow. Russian authorities also expressed the need reducing the American embassy to xnumx people, to equalize their number with the number of employees in the Russian diplomatic mission in the United States.

In response to this, the US Embassy in Russia suspended the issuance of non-immigrant visas August 23 to September 1 2017. The issuance of renewed 1 September, but only in Moscow (before a visa could also be obtained in the consulate general in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok).

However, due to the shortage of personnel in the consulates after the order of Russia to reduce the number of US diplomatic missions, the process of issuing visas requiring an interview has slowed down dramatically.

In addition, in response The United States decided to close the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco and some sales offices in Washington and New York.

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