WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th March, 2021) It often takes up to a year for a Russian diplomat nowadays to receive a visa to the United States, while Washington also denies renewals of their permits to stay, Russian Consul General in Houston Alexander Zakharov told Sputnik.
"It concerns not only the personnel of our Consulate General, but also Russian diplomats in general in the United States.... for several years now, the Consulate General has been functioning with an incomplete staffing precisely because of the tough visa policy of our American colleagues. It has become common to wait for visas for a year or more, while the result is not guaranteed," he said. "What is even more alarming, the host country is now not only delaying the issuance of visas to new employees, but also refusing to renew the permits to stay for employees of the Russian foreign missions already in the United States."
It turns out, Zakharov added, that if any of his colleagues find themselves in urgent need to travel to Russia, whether on an official or personal occasion, they can no longer enter America. It is kind of a "one way ticket" in the middle of a business trip, he added.Zakharov added that The people now have to return to Russia without having their replacements, which has a very negative effect on the ability to effectively fulfill the tasks assigned to the diplomatic mission.
"We hope that the American side will reconsider its position and return to constructive negotiations on visa issues," the Consul General stated.
Zakharov also reminded about the impact of the closure by Washington of the two Russian Consulates in 2017 and 2018.
"To our deep regret, the unfounded demand of the American side to close first the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco and then in Seattle impacted, first of all, our compatriots living in the west and northwest of the United States," he explained. "Now, in order to receive consular services, they have to come either to the Embassy in Washington, or to us in Houston. And this is both time and money."
Moreover, Zakharov continued to say, the redistribution of the applicant flows led to a sharp increase in the load on the Consulate General.
"Thus, the number of consular actions performed by us has almost doubled compared to 2017," he revealed.
"Since we have raised this topic, I would like to dispel one of the common misconceptions among our compatriots," he added. "Communicating with visitors or browsing social networks, we sometimes encounter righteous indignation, they say, how is it possible in such a large country to have only three missions abroad, because it is difficult for people to get to you, they have to wait a long time for an appointment, why were the consulates general closed? I would like to note once again that the decision to terminate the activities of Russian diplomatic missions in San Francisco and Seattle was made by the American side, while de facto seizing diplomatic property from Russia."
