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The U.S. State Department has closed two consulates in the Russian Federation for ‘diplomatic optimization’ reasons.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has decided to shut down the national consulate general in Russia’s Vladivostok and suspend the operation of the diplomatic mission in Russia’s Yekaterinburg, a spokesperson for the State Department told TASS Friday.
He explained that the decision was made to optimize the operation of the US diplomatic mission to Russia. At the same time, no additional actions involving Russian consulates general in the US are planned now.
The move will make the processing of American visas for Russian citizens more difficult. Dual-nation families will be caught up in the diplomatic tit-for-tat.
The move comes on the heels of Secretary of State Pompeo calling out Russia as behind the massive Solar Winds cyber attack on the U.S. Federal government.
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