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US closes Russian visa center
Diplomacy
The American administration is closing the two branches of the Russian visa center in the United States and depriving Russian diplomats of the possibility of not paying taxes in the country. This was reported by the Russian Ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, on Friday.
“Every day, attacks are launched against us. Today, just an hour ago, the Americans sent us a notification that the visa center was closing. […] The Americans also launched another nasty little attack on Russian diplomats today […]. They took away our tax exemption cards. These cards imply privileges for diplomats in any country, allowing them to live without paying taxes to the local treasury,” the diplomat said, speaking to journalists after the Candle of Memory commemorative action organized in the embassy on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance and Grief, the date of the start of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, which is celebrated annually in Russia on June 22.
According to him, the United States has not provided any explanation. “The fact is that the Americans in Moscow and Russia do not have the same problems as us. This is why their two consulates general remain frozen,” explained the ambassador.
“This is a significant additional burden for us, given the shortage of staff at our consulates general in Houston and New York. Nevertheless, I assure everyone that we will not give up and that we will continue our work,” Mr. Antonov stressed.
He said the United States was closing two branches of the visa center: in Washington and New York.
The ambassador added that the situation around Russian diplomatic missions “continues to deteriorate.”n