A public dispute erupted on Monday between the United States and Russia over the number of employees at their respective embassies, signaling a lack of progress on this sensitive issue despite a summit between the two countries' leaders and the commencement of a "strategic dialogue" intended to stabilize their strained relations. Russian Ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, condemned the "expulsions" of Russian diplomats in an interview with the American magazine "The National Interest," accusing the U.S. of being "diligent and creative in this area" by limiting the duration of visas for Russian diplomats to three years.
The Russian ambassador stated, "We received a list of 24 diplomats expected to leave the country before September 3, 2021," adding, "Almost all of them will leave without being replaced, as Washington suddenly tightened visa issuance procedures."
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price characterized the ambassador's statements as "inaccurate," stating that the Russians were aware that these visas would expire after three years and that they were free to apply for an extension. Price, in turn, renewed accusations against Moscow, claiming that it forced the U.S. to expel Russian staff from its diplomatic missions in Russia due to a new ban on using Russian or third-country personnel.
Price stated to the press, "This is unfortunate, as these measures negatively impact the operations of the U.S. mission in Russia" and affect "the safety of our personnel as well as our ability to conduct diplomatic exchanges with the Russian government." He added, "We reserve the right to take appropriate actions in response to Russia's actions," emphasizing that this was not related to the issue of expiring visas mentioned by the Russian ambassador.
In April, Washington imposed a series of additional sanctions on Russia, accusing Moscow of interfering in U.S. elections and being behind cyberattacks. Ten Russian diplomats were expelled from the United States, and American banks faced restrictions regarding the purchase of Russian debt. Russia retaliated by expelling ten American diplomats and issued threats to U.S.-funded organizations and non-profits, denying entry to several members of the Joe Biden administration to its territory.
