In Istanbul, bilateral negotiations were held on the topic of the work of diplomatic agents
Diplomats from Russia and the United States met on Thursday, February 27, in Istanbul to discuss the work of their embassies in each other. The meeting was a logical continuation of the first contact of the Russian and American delegations at a high level of February 18 in Riyadh, where the heads of foreign policy services of the two countries agreed, among other things, to eliminate numerous presaples in the work of diplomatic agents. What exactly Moscow and Washington managed to converge, remained unknown to the general public. However, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that the current expert consultations of Russia and the USA are only the first in a series of meetings.
Negotiations were held in the residence of the US Consul in Istanbul, located in the Arnavutkei area on the Bosphorus. Their conduct announced The day before the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He made it clear that the meeting in Turkish territory would be completely devoted to the topic of the work of diplomatic murals. In particular, the minister clarified that in the framework of this contact, negotiators will not affect the topic of frozen Russian reserves.
A similar message came from American visas. According to CNN in the US State Department, “there are no issues related to politics or security on the agenda,” the parties will discuss exclusively issues regarding the “number of personnel, visas, banking operations necessary for the work of diplomats”.
As far as the results of communication, which lasted about six and a half hours, the parties managed to advance on these issues, remained unknown. Negotiations were held in the regime closed from journalists, but there were no operational statements for the press.
Nevertheless, the general mood of the Russian side seemed moderately optimistic. “We expect that today's meeting will be the first in a series of similar expert consultations that will bring us closer to the American side to overcoming disagreements, strengthen trust measures,” noted The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.
The meeting in Istanbul was a logical continuation negotiations In Riyadh between high-ranking delegations of the Russian Federation and the USA on February 18.
Then, according to their results, Sergey Lavrov said that the parties reached an agreement on the speedy appointment of ambassadors, as well as on the removal of many years of barriers and restrictions on the work of diplomatic missions in each other.
This, in particular, is about “artificial obstacles for the activities of the Russian embassy,” explained the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry on the eve of the meeting in Istanbul. And he honestly admitted: “Naturally, we reciprocated and also created uncomfortable conditions for the work of the American embassy in Moscow.”
Recall that in recent years, the personnel of embassies of both the United States in Russia and Russia in the States have suffered greatly from mutual expulsions of a large number of diplomats and other restrictions.
One of the most iconic stories of this kind broke under the curtain of 2016. Then US President Barack Obama in the last days of his stay at the post announced At once the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats, explaining: their « actions came into conflict with the diplomatic status. » The State Department taught this step as a reaction to the fact that « attacks on US diplomatic personnel over the past two years, carried out by the special services and the Russian police, have significantly intensified and crossed all the limits. »
Many saw in the story of Obama’s attempt to maximize the life of the life of Donald Trump who entered into his first time, who openly spoke about the desire to establish a dialogue with Russia.
After all, it was clear that in response to the expulsion of Russian diplomats, Moscow would answer mirror, that would automatically throw Russian-American relations at an even lower point.
Then, having accused Russia of committing hacker attacks, which, according to Washington, could affect the result of the US presidential election in November 2016, the Obama administration Obstructed On the facilities belonging to the Russian Federation in the States of New York and Maryland, the Killenert estate on an area of 14 acres (about 5.66 hectares) on the island of Long Island on the banks of the Atlantic Ocean and a complex of buildings on a section of 45 acres (about 18.2 hectares) on the shore of the Gulf of Chesapik about 100 km from Washington.
In 2017, the Russian side Offered The United States give the number of diplomatic and technical employees working at the American embassy in Moscow, in the Consulate Generals in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok, in accordance with the number of Russian diplomats and employees located in the United States. Thus, the staff of American diplomatic and consular institutions in Russia was reduced by 755 people, to 455. In response to the United States announced On the closure of the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco, as well as consular facilities in New York and Washington.
A new round of diplomatic war came in 2018. In April, the year, a month after Attempts of poisoning In the UK, ex-colonel GRU Sergei Skripal, in 1995-2004. cooperating with the British intelligence services, US leadership made a decision On the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats from the country: 48 employees of diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation and 12 employees of the Russian Federation at the UN. At the same time, Washington ordered to close the Russian consulate in Seattle, depriving the Consulate General and the residence of the General Consul of the Russian Federation there diplomatic status and blocked access to them. In response in Russia made a decision Close the US Consulate in St. Petersburg.
Two years later, in 2020, the Donald Trump administration decided to close the last two consulates in Russia. Under reduction hit diplomatic mission in Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg. And since then, the embassy in Moscow remains the only diplomatic representation of the United States in the Russian Federation.
In addition to the embassy in Washington and the Permanent Protection at the UN, Russia has two General consultations-in New York and Houston.
In addition to the mutual expulsions of diplomats and closing the dipecots, the parties imposed other restrictions on each other. So, in 2021, by decree of President Vladimir Putin, to embassies and consulates of countries committing unfriendly actions in relation to Russia, they forbade hiring people who are in Russian territory, and already concluded labor contracts were ordered to break it off. Against this background, the US Embassy in Moscow announced a sharp reduction in consular services since May, suspending the issuance of all non -immigrant visas. This was explained by the fact that as a result of the decree, the consular department of the diplomatic mission was reduced by 75%.
In 2022-already under Joe Bayden-Washington tightly limited the movement of Russian diplomats within the 25-mile zone around the New York headquarters of the UN and began to constantly reject all applications for travel beyond its limits. As the Permanent Representative of Russia at the UN, Vasily Nebenzya then, such measures act only in relation to a small group of states conducting a sovereign foreign policy: “It is, in particular, about Cuba, Iran, Syria, the DPRK and China.” In addition, Russian diplomats arriving in the United States at the UN events often began to refuse entry visas, which Moscow called a gross violation of international law.
