MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/: American diplomats are leaving Russia in accordance with Moscow's reciprocal demands, with the reduction of embassy staff continuing due to Washington's actions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told journalists on Wednesday.
"The American side follows our instructions. Unfortunately, the process of reducing the number of employees on both sides continues. This is not our choice, but people from the American embassy are leaving following those demands that we presented," he said.
Earlier, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that only 184 employees would remain in the Russian Embassy in Washington after another group left the country by January 30 due to the US side limiting the terms of duty of Russian diplomats to three years.
Earlier, in response to anti-Russian sanctions declared by Washington and yet another round of expelling Russian diplomats, Moscow introduced a ban on hiring Russian and third-country citizens by the US Embassy in Russia. The US Embassy in Moscow announced that beginning on May 12, 2021, it would reduce consular services, along with suspending the issuance of non-diplomatic visas. The issuance of diplomatic visas has slowed down as well.
Since August 1, the US Embassy in Russia has been operating with a skeleton staff of 120 employees. The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out then that nobody prevents the US Embassy from filling its quota of 455 diplomats with employees from the US.
