US closes Russian visa center
The US closes the Russian visa center and deprives Russian diplomats of tax privileges.
This is reported by Radio Svoboda with reference to the Russian ambassador to the USA, Anatolii Antonov, Rubryka reports.
Antonov specified that both branches of the visa center, in Washington and New York, would be closed and added that the American administration did not explain its decision.
"Now an additional burden falls on the shoulders of Russian diplomats and consuls," he said.
In addition, tax exemption cards will be taken away from Russian diplomats, which Antonov called a "petty attack" on the part of the USA.
The deterioration of contacts at the level of the ministries of the two countries occurred after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
However, already since 2021, the Russian authorities have considered the USA an "unfriendly country."
On June 18, the deputy head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Serhii Ryabkov, said that foreign policy contacts between Russia and the United States have now been reduced "to an absolute minimum."
Russia has reportedly sought to influence the 2024 US presidential election by hiring commercial firms and using AI, including to undermine America's support for Ukraine.
