The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
The US said it’s slashing visa services in Russia after the Kremlin ordered it to cut two-thirds of staff at its embassy and consulates as relations between the former Cold War rivals spiraled.
All non-immigrant visa operations will be halted from Aug. 23 and will resume “on a greatly reduced scale†from Sept. 1, with applicant interviews conducted solely in Moscow, the US embassy said. Non-immigrant visa interviews at the US consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok “are suspended until further notice,†according to the statement.
The decision is “due to the Russian government-imposed cap on US diplomatic personnel in Russia,†the embassy said in its statement. President Vladimir Putin’s demand for the US to cut 755 staff from its embassy and consulates by Sept. 1 “calls into question Russia’s seriousness about pursuing better relations,†it said.
Putin ordered the US to cut staff at its diplomatic missions in Russia in retaliation for the passage of new sanctions legislation by the US Congress last month. He said the decision would bring the US total into line with the number of Russian embassy staff in the US Putin added that he hoped the action would draw a line under the dispute that was triggered when the administration of then President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats in December in retaliation for alleged meddling by Moscow in the US presidential election.
But Andrey Klimov, a senior member of the upper house of Russia’s parliament, warned that Moscow would react to the US visa-service reductions. “This is of course a demarche,†the RIA Novosti news agency quoted him as saying.
“We can’t leave this unanswered and everything will clearly be mirrored.â€
Foreign Minister Lavrov said Russia wouldn’t “take out its anger on American citizens†and would “study closely†the US decision before deciding on a response. He questioned the US justification for the service cuts, saying they seemed aimed at the “political†goal of sowing discontent within Russia. The US measures will negatively affect only the small “most pro-western group of Russians,†said Alexander Baunov, analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center.