The US will close Russian visa centres in New York and Washington, and diplomats will be forced to pay taxes

The US authorities have decided to close both branches of the Russian visa centre in New York and Washington, D.C., Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has said. According to him, the diplomatic mission received a notification on 21 June.

"Now, Russian diplomats and consuls will have an additional burden on their shoulders. And I want to say right away that we will continue to work," Antonov said. He promised to take measures to ensure that Russians continue to receive "the necessary legal and consular support".

Antonov also said that the United States had "taken away" cards from Russian diplomats that allow them to avoid paying taxes to the local budget. According to him, the Americans did not explain this step, which the ambassador called "a petty, nasty step".

Speaking about possible retaliatory measures, Antonov said that "today we should not be cutting ourselves off from the shoulder". "We need to think about it, we need to see what the specific consequences will be, what we need to do," he said.

At the same time, Antonov added that the situation around Russian diplomatic missions is "getting worse all the time." He recalled that earlier the country's consulates general in Houston and New York had been "bled dry".

In the spring of 2022, the United States closed the accounts of both diplomatic missions with Bank of America. And last December, the consular section of the embassy in Washington, D.C., fired 40% of its staff.

"Every day we feel pressure, a desire to inject us, a desire to create difficulties," the ambassador said. In his opinion, this is how the US is "trying to change Russia's foreign policy" and "force diplomats" to stop their work.

"This will not happen. Until the last diplomat, while we are here, we will fulfil our tasks. We will carry out the instructions we receive from our capital," Antonov said.

In turn, the official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Moscow "will give an adequate response" if the US closes the Russian visa centre and deprives diplomats of tax privileges.

Background. As reported, Germany and Austria did not allow a ban on the movement of Russian diplomats. They fear that Moscow will take mirror measures in response.