Russia’s response to the “visa war” by the United States may become asymmetric – MFA

Russia’s response to the destructive actions of the Americans against Russian diplomats may become asymmetric, said Alexander Darchiev, director of the North American Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, the diplomat accused the United States of spinning the “flywheel of the visa war”, which already affects not only employees of diplomatic missions, but also ordinary citizens.

Darchiev noted that at present, diplomatic missions and other foreign institutions of the Russian Federation in the United States are working in very difficult conditions. He also spoke about the “atmosphere of Russophobia” cultivated by the US authorities along with the regular introduction of new restrictions on Russian diplomats.

“We … are forced to take retaliatory measures to such hostile actions – both “mirror” and asymmetric,” the diplomat said, noting that Russia is not interested in escalation. “For every action there is a reaction,” he added.

Darchiev also noted that currently obtaining an American visa requires a lot of effort, including travel to other states to submit documents and obtain a visa. He also noted that the reluctance of the US authorities to issue US visas in Moscow is “a purely domestic American decision.” Earlier, the United States stopped issuing visas in Moscow, arguing that this was due to a “lack of personnel.”

On Thursday, US State Department First Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said the US administration does not intend its actions against Russia to harm its people. According to him, the United States does not want their measures to “have a significant impact” on the Russians, let alone harm them, and Washington has disagreements, “but not with the Russian people.”