Another 30 employees of Russian foreign agencies will leave the US on January 1

Another 30 employees of Russian foreign missions will leave the United States on January 1 due to visa restrictions, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.

“The Americans continue their policy of reducing the diplomatic presence of Russia in the United States. On January 1, another 30 people are leaving us, who are forced to leave the United States due to visa restrictions from the State Department, ”said Antonov (quote according to TASS).

According to the diplomat, the situation around Russian foreign missions in the United States remains tense: employees continue to receive threats and offers to “betray their homeland and cooperate with American intelligence services.”

In 2021, the staff of the US Embassy was cut by 90% compared to 2016: if five years ago 1200 people worked in it, then since August 1 last year – 120. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov noted that the number of diplomats working in the embassy USA in Moscow began to decline in accordance with the requirements of the Russian side. At the same time, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov noted that during his tenure alone, more than 120 diplomats and employees of the Russian embassy were also expelled from the United States, more than 300 people with their families.

At the same time, Ryabkov also stated that a break in relations between Russia and the United States is not excluded, but it is not in the interests of the Russian side. “We are pursuing our policy consistently, proactively, not reactively, including in the American direction, guided purely and exclusively by our national interests,” he noted then.