The United States artificially restricts the issuance of nonimmigrant visas in order to “bargain” unilateral concessions in accordance with its interests. This was announced on Friday, December 31, by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“Now the American side, referring to the” shortage of personnel “, artificially restricts the issuance of nonimmigrant visas in the Russian Federation,” – quotes the head of the Foreign Ministry “RIA Novosti”.
According to him, Washington is doing this “for a reason,” but in order to “bargain” for itself unilateral concessions from Russia.
As the head of the Russian foreign policy department emphasized, nothing prevents the US embassy from filling the quota of 455 employees and stabilizing the work of its consular service.
In general, speaking about the situation with visas, Lavrov noted: “unfortunately, the situation is still difficult.”
The minister recalled that since May 12, 2021, the Americans have suspended the issuance of non-diplomatic visas, while retaining the right to consider applications related to vital emergencies.
“This is a sovereign decision of the United States,” he said.
Lavrov also added that Moscow, in contacts with Washington, constantly raises the question of the need to normalize the visa issuance process.
Earlier, on December 24, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Russia called on the UN to launch an arbitration tribunal against the United States due to delays in the issuance of visas and the seizure of diplomatic property.
On December 13, in an interview with Izvestia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow would like to hold consultations with Washington on the situation with diplomatic missions and the issuance of visas. According to him, Russia is ready to organize these consultations as quickly as possible – by the end of 2021, immediately after receiving a response from Washington on this issue.
On December 5, US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said the United States could not increase its diplomatic presence in Russia because US diplomats were not issued Russian visas. According to him, the current situation can be described as a “visa deadlock”.
On September 22, the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the United States was manipulating the issuance of visas in order to put pressure on other countries.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
