US media spoke about progress in resolving the diplomatic conflict with the Russian Federation | News from Germany about Russia

The United States and Russia have made progress in resolving the conflict over the embassy personnel of both countries. This was reported on Friday, December 3, and on the night of Saturday, December 4, according to The Washington Post and the Reuters news agency, citing informed sources in the US State Department.

According to The Washington Post, after months of confrontation, representatives of the United States and Russia managed to reach a preliminary agreement on the provision of visas to employees of the American Embassy in Moscow during a meeting in Vienna. If this decision is approved, it will be possible to prevent the difficult situation predicted by American officials, when the embassy will practically be closed. For several months, the Russian side refused requests from the US State Department to issue visas for employees of the embassy in Moscow.

The practice of permitted exit has been discontinued

Reuters clarifies that after negotiations in Vienna, Washington stopped the policy of authorized departure from Russia of family members of American diplomats and other employees of US government agencies – a kind of voluntary evacuation for family members of diplomats. “In recent days, we have made progress on bilateral issues and we hope to continue moving in this direction,” the agency quoted an e-mail from a State Department spokesman.

The so-called permitted exit was introduced for the US Embassy in Moscow in August to allow family members of the diplomatic mission employees to voluntarily leave Russia amid diplomatic disagreements between the two countries.

The diplomatic conflict between the Russian Federation and the United States has been going on for months

On December 1, the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded that US Embassy employees who have been in Moscow for more than three years leave Russia by January 31, 2022. Earlier it became known about a similar requirement for 27 Russian diplomats with families working in the Russian Embassy in Washington. The same number of specialists from the Russian diplomatic mission are to leave the United States in six months – by June 30.

The Washington Post notes that if five years ago 1,200 people worked at the American embassy in Moscow, now there are 120 of them. 200 people.

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