On Monday, Deputy Consul General Vyacheslav Slavkin told TASS that the amount of employees at the Russian Consulate General in New York will be significantly reduced because of U.S. policy in issuing visas. This comes at the heals of a Russian election where significant travel is expected to Russia. "We don't see any problems. In accordance with the established procedure, we informed the authorities of the host country about holding the election so the appropriate U.S. authorities can provide the corresponding security regime. We were promised utmost cooperation in these issues, so we are ready to welcome the voters", he continued.
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told The National Interest magazine earlier in an interview that in December of last year, the US authorities had handed Russia a list of 24 diplomats who were to leave the country by September 3 due to a unilaterally established three-year limit on the assignment period for Russian personnel in the US. Additionally, the ambassador said that the US authorities canceled valid visas of diplomats’ spouses and children without reason or any explanation.
US State Department Spokesman Ned Price stated that the US does not want escalation with Russia with regards to the work of diplomats of the two countries. According to him, the limitation on the length of diplomatic tours in the US is designated to balance the operations of missions.
