Moscow considers intolerable the situation in which Russian Olympic champion Maria Lasitskene was forced to miss the competition in the United States due to non-issuance of US visa, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2021) Moscow considers intolerable the situation in which Russian Olympic champion Maria Lasitskene was forced to miss the competition in the United States due to non-issuance of US visa, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"There are intolerable situations when, for example, the Russian Olympic champion Maria Lasitskene, due to the inability to obtain a visa, had to miss the Diamond League competition in the United States," the statement says.
The ministry also stressed that "hundreds, if not thousands" of compatriots were now in a similar situation, when, even in acute humanitarian situations, the US diplomatic mission in Moscow recommends to contact the US consular offices in third countries.
The ministry regrets that the US Embassy in Russia, citing the "lack of personnel," has almost completely stopped issuing visas to Russian citizens.
"They pin the blame on the Russian authorities, which have banned the hiring of local personnel as assistants to consular workers," the statement says.
Russian consulates in the United States continue visa processing in full, despite the lack of staff, it noted.
"The Russian consular offices in the United States, which are drained of personnel due to the refusal of the US Department of State to issue visas to our new employees to replace those who have completed their business trip and returned to their homeland, nevertheless continue visa processing in full," the ministry said.
