Former US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan recalled on Thursday that he was preparing himself to clean bathrooms and floors at the United States embassy in Moscow amid fears of staff cuts
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th January, 2023) Former US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan recalled on Thursday that he was preparing himself to clean bathrooms and floors at the United States embassy in Moscow amid fears of staff cuts.
"(W)e weren't sure that we were going to be able to have our locally employed staff come onto the compound. That's when we first started to prepare for what's called all-purpose duty," Sullivan said in an interview with Foreign Policy. "To prepare for that, we all ... were given at least one other responsibility. I thought, as a leader, I ought to pick the crummiest, so I was with a group that was trained to clean the bathrooms and to clean the floors."
Russia and the United States have requested reducing their respective staff at embassies and consulates in a series of tit-for-tat moves that have led to the closure of several missions.
In November, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told Sputnik that the United States is not taking the steps necessary to improve the work of the embassy in Moscow and the situation in the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington is not getting better.
The US mission in Russia said it no longer offers non-diplomatic visa services due to Moscow's April 23 notification banning the embassy from employing foreign nationals. According to the State Department, Russian nationals may continue applying for non-immigrant visas at any US embassy or consulate where they can obtain an appointment.
