Diplomat
says Russia offered US various ways out of situation with anti-Russian
sanctions
August
31, 17:23UTC+3
There
were a few rounds of corresponding expert talks on how to overcome this
situation, Maria Zakharova said
Russian
Foreign Ministry’s Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
© Vyacheslav
Prokofyev/TASS
MOSCOW,
August 31. /TASS/. Moscow has offered Washington various options to overcome
the situation with the anti-Russian sanctions before suggesting that it should
cut down the number of its employees at the American diplomatic mission in
Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry’s Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on
Thursday.
"We’ve
been offering various ways of out this situation to the United States for many
months, more than half a year," she said.
"We
gave half a year to the American side, and this wasn’t silent provision of
opportunities, but constant attempts to involve [the US] in a dialogue. There
were a few rounds of corresponding expert talks on how to overcome this
situation," the diplomat added.
About
the sanctions
In
late December 2016, then-Barack Obama administration introduced sanctions
against Russia, declaring 35 employees of the Russian Embassy in Washington and
Consulate General in San Francisco persona non grata and closing two Russian
diplomatic compounds in the states of New York and Maryland. All Russian staff
was banned from entering these facilities.
READ
ALSO
In
late July, the US Congress approved a bill tightening unilateral sanctions
against Russia, Iran and North Korea. The document, in particular, legalized
anti-Russian measures taken by the previous US administration headed by
then-President Barack Obama on the basis of his orders.
On
July 28, following voting on anti-Russian sanctions in the Congress, the
Russian Foreign Ministry suggested Washington should equal the number of its
diplomatic and support staff working in the US Embassy in Moscow and in Consulates
General in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok to the exact number of
Russian diplomats and support staff working in the US before September 1. This
means that the total number of the American diplomatic staff in Russia will be
reduced to 455 people.
On
August 21, the US Embassy to Russia declared it would suspend non-immigrant
visa issuance to Russian citizens starting from August 23. Visa issuance will
be renewed on September 1, but only for Moscow. Consulates General in St.
Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok will not issue visas.
More:
http://tass.com/politics/963030
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