Washington is not going to anticipate possible new steps regarding the work of the us diplomatic mission in Russia. On Monday, September 11, RIA Novosti said the head of the press service of the Embassy of the USA in Russia Maria Olson.
Earlier on Monday, Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow fully intends to equalize the working conditions of American diplomats in Russia and Russian in the United States. Lavrov reminded that Russia has appealed to Washington with a request to equalize the number of its diplomats with the number of the diplomatic corps of the Russian Federation in the United States. In this case, said the Minister of foreign Affairs, Moscow has shown “good will” to include a list of employees of the Russian diplomatic missions in the United States and those Russians who are working in the office at the UN.
On the same day, the newspaper “Kommersant” reported that Russia may restrict the number of entry points into the country for U.S. diplomats, as well as to deprive employees of diplomatic missions of the USA the possibility to use the allocated Parking lots around the diplomatic missions. In addition, it may reduce the number of American diplomats allowed to freely travel outside a certain area around the diplomatic missions.
September 2, Russia at the request of the American side has closed the Consulate General in San Francisco, in the building were searched. In addition, the work stopped two buildings of trade representative offices in Washington and new York.
Such US demands were a response to Russia’s proposal until September 1 to reduce to 455 people total number of personnel in U.S. diplomatic missions in the Russian Federation — the Russian foreign Ministry reacted to the adoption by the Senate of the Congress of a bill toughening sanctions against Russia.