US Is to Close all Consulates General in Russia

The administration of the current US President Donald Trump has decided to close the country's Consulates General in Russia. After that, the only diplomatic representation of Washington in the country will remain the Embassy in Moscow. The US State Department notified the Congress about plans to stop the work of consulates in Vladivostok and Ekaterinburg on December 10, the Associated Press noted. Later, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported about a possible closure. The consulate in Vladivostok is planned to be closed forever, the Ural consulate - for an indefinite period. This means, in particular, that in the future, Russian citizens will be able to apply for a US visa only at the Moscow Embassy or in other countries. The notice to Congress said the closure would be a response to the staffing problems of the US mission in Russia in connection with restrictions imposed by Moscow in 2017 on a number of personnel in US missions. Then, the decision was taken to reduce the staff of American diplomats in the country by more than two and a half times, by 755 people, President Vladimir Putin announced. This was in response to the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and the closure of two Russian Embassy villas in the United States due to Moscow's alleged interference in the American elections. In 2018, the United States expelled 60 Russian diplomats after former GRU Colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter got poisoned in the UK, and the Russian consulate in Seattle was closed. In response, Moscow expelled 60 people and closed the US consulate in St. Petersburg.