Russia classified the United States and the Czech Republic as “unfriendly countries” this Friday (05/14/2021), in full diplomatic battle with the West.
The Russian government decree was published a few days after the first meeting between the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the head of Russian diplomacy Sergey Lavrov.
As a result of this classification, the US embassy will not be able to employ any Russian citizen, while the Czech legation will be able to employ a maximum of 19 local workers.
The US embassy had already announced this week the suspension of the vast majority of consular services due to Russian sanctions, which forced it to lay off its local staff and reduce “its employees by 75%”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the Foreign Ministry in late April 2021 to establish a list of “unfriendly countries” to “protect the interests and security” of Russia.
“Moscow has always emphasized its willingness to dialogue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Friday, quoted by the TASS news agency.
afp / efe / rr
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