USA: Russian Envoy Antonov blames Washington for ‘visa war’

C/U Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov being interviewed
SOT, Anatoly Antonov, Russian Ambassador to the United States (Russian): “Since the time when Russian diplomats were forced to leave the USA, the American side launched a visa war against us. In general, we are not in favour of making decisions for such sensitive issues through the mass media. Today we just have to turn to this topic. What is actually going on? At that time the Americans stopped issuing visas for our diplomats and administrative and technical staff. They introduced a system of exchanges - for each Russian diplomat we will have to give a visa to an American diplomat, as well as for every administrative employee and technical staff we must give a visa to an American."
C/U Antonov *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Anatoly Antonov, Russian Ambassador to United States (Russian): “[Reports that] Russia refused to provide teachers with a visa is a lie. Not a single refusal was made. Furthermore, I’d like to tell you that in recent weeks we faced a situation where we issue Americans with visas, even while solving visa schemes, but they do not. It seriously makes us think about our possible further steps. Today the thing that has happened is just using information flows and information means in order to put pressure on us, to break our hands and to force us to go on without waiting, without counting on the fact that we will get some reciprocity from the American side.”
C/U Antonov *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Anatoly Antonov, Russian Ambassador to United States (Russian): “We are interested in normal and pragmatic relations with the USA. We are interested in the normal situation in the sphere of issuing visas. We are ready to make steps for that. We offered several options to the US side more than once. We are ready to start issuing visas to American teachers tomorrow, but can we count on reciprocity from the American side? There is no answer to that."
C/U Antonov *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Anatoly Antonov, Russian Ambassador to the United States (Russian): "I am firmly convinced that my colleagues at the US Embassy in Moscow are experiencing the same difficulties. We should abstract ourselves from such populist slogans and the desire to trade barbs with each other. We need to deal with concrete issues and to solve the problems in order to straighten the Russian-American ties.
C/U Antonov
SCRIPT
The US has started “a visa war” against Russia, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said, speaking in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
"Since the time when Russian diplomats were forced to leave the USA, the American side launched a visa war against us,” the envoy said.
The ambassador accused the US of introducing “a system of exchanges - for each Russian diplomat we will have to give a visa to an American diplomat, as well as for every administrative employee and technical staff we must give a visa to an American.”
Antonov also denied reports that Russia had allegedly refused to issue visas to new teachers at the Anglo-American School in Moscow.
He stated that Moscow is “interested in normal and pragmatic relations with the USA,” pointing out that both sides suffer from the current situation.
“We need to deal with concrete issues and to solve the problems in order to straighten the Russian-American ties,” the ambassador concluded.