On Friday, the US embassy in Moscow announced that it was cutting consular services and reducing its staff by 75 percent.
As part of the cutbacks, the embassy will no longer process non-immigrant visas for Russians. So any Russian citizens that want to travel to the US that aren’t seeking a green card would have to obtain a tourist visa through a third country.
The announcement came after Russia put limits on the amount of staff the US embassy could hire locally, a response to recent US sanctions and the expulsion of Russian diplomats. Russia’s foreign ministry pointed out that the Russian embassy in the US was still issuing visas to American citizens within 10 days despite limits they have had to deal with.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the US move won’t change much since the embassy has not been processing many visas lately. “I think that only a handful of Russian citizens were able to obtain a visa at the US Embassy in Moscow during the last year, or maybe a bit more. These visas were next to impossible to get. So, nothing will change on this score,” he said.
Peskov also blamed actions from Washington for straining US-Russia relations. “If we rewind this thread of unfriendly steps, it would become apparent, that it all was caused by the unfriendly actions of the US,” he said.
The Biden administration has taken an incredibly hostile approach to Russia. Besides expelling diplomats and imposing sanctions, the US has expressed “unwavering” support for Ukraine amid tensions with Russia. The rhetoric has also been harsh, with President Biden agreeing in an interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “killer” who has “no soul.”
The reason?
Usually, cutting off all diplomatic relations with a country is one of the final moves made right before a hot war starts.
The US should tread lightly. Russia is the only country in the world besides China that could destroy DC in a counterattack.
Of course, no one in DC thinks that will ever happen so those idiots just might start a war with Russia. And China.
Is the reason ever needed? But this is the case of not bothering even to come up with a lie!
Will US public notice? Will anybody really care?
From now on, Blinkens of this world will no longer need a fancy story — like poisoning — they can go straight to sanctions,
.
And these sanctions are I believe the first batch issued by the authority of State Department WITHOUT the President’s approval.
“And these sanctions are I believe the first batch issued by the authority of State Department WITHOUT the President’s approval.”
I’d be surprised if Trump didn’t give Pompeo carte blanch in doling out those daily sanctions directed at Iran that were intended to make rejoining the JCPOA next to impossible. They might have been approved by Trump but I’d be willing to bet that he didn’t know what half of them were. I mean he was too busy trying to stop the steal after all.
In what era?
The Oil Embargo on Japan that precipitated the Pacific War in WW2 was done without the President’s approval, by Dean Acheson while the President and his boss were out of town.
“Roosevelt did not intend the flow of oil to Japan to cease. The president with the Secretary of State then departed Washington for Newfoundland to meet with Churchill. While he was gone Asst Secretary Acheson used those frozen assets to deny Japan oil. Upon the president’s return, he decided it would appear weak and appeasing to reverse the de facto oil embargo.”
Techno corporatism and free for all privatization of spaceship Earth has reached final frenzy.
There is simply not enough to go around for continued exponential growth of billionaires.
Biden is doing what was fully expected from a Democrat government. Get a war going as fast as possible. And specifically, a war that would damage Russian interests. Most appointees, Blinken, Nuland included, are Russia haters by their well known ethnic historical grievances.
If you add here a billionaire class that just needs a war desperately to reset the casino economy — a perfect storm. What Hitler did not finish — these people think they can.
Their minds are stuck in the past century. I know what they think will be achieved — Russians getting mad at their government. There are some that will be seriously hurt mostly family members of US citizens or permanent residents that will not be able to visit any more. However, Russians do not see this as their fault, and are tired of being bullied.
Hopefully, some cooling down of seriously feverish heads in Washington is needed to reduce the danger of escalation.
Biden is aware that public — democrats included — are not in favor of wars. So, what does he do? Calls for stabilizing relationships with Russia, calls for meeting. All so wholesome and reasonable. Bad Russia, democrats will say, how can it be so unfriendly after all the nice things Biden says? And with Russia then being defined as the obstinate one and a bully — who would object to war?
“Biden is doing what was fully expected from a Democrat government. Get a war going as fast as possible.”
As compared to what, a republican government? Iraq 1? Afghanistan? Iraq 2? And since Clinton and Obama took the remaining opportunities for Trump away from him, he was left with just trying to egg on the scraps, North Korea, Venezuela and of course especially Iran. But since their were no takers he was just left to continue with his economic wars that had just as much of a devastating effect as a shooting war, death and misery. It blows me away that people think one of the two parties is more warmongering than the other. It’s a dead f*cking heat.
Exactly! An “unpopular” President can become a “popular” one by just mass murdering thousands of innocent people in a “belligerent” nation. There are really only TWO parties in this USA- the War Party and the rest of us!
Real mature…
hmm putin would rather appreciate this fewer turncoats to worry about
Blinken wants better relations with Russia temporarily, till China is brought to heal. Russia should not fall into the trap. The US will never be Russia’s friend as long as the tyrannical minority that rules the US hangs on to power.
The primary problem with the USA is that it’s foreign policy is still race based and it has seldom had anyone in government that knows anything about the Civil Law (what is referred to as Roman Law) which is the basis of the The Law of Nations. Alan Watson’s “Joseph Story and the Comity of Errors” is an excellent example of that. It’s an infant nation it’s so called conservatives still see the States as independent sovereign nations and when actual Jurists come to court and attempt to explain Legal reality they’re allegorically lambasted as Pinko Liberal Communists. Consequently Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-republican Party aside from slavery has never really paid much attention to what Civil Law or Civil Society actually is. If you mention Public Utility to them they think you’re referring to ConEd. So they generally rely on some antient common law notions furthered by Edward Coke which is essentially in total opposition to Civil Law. So the main element of their ‘foreign policy’ is gun boat diplomacy. Whereas Russia is the opposite and the USA hasn’t any people that have any ability to understand or deal with it.
Russia also withdrew its Ambassador and invited the US Ambassador to leave.
This is very near a break of diplomatic relations.
We long ago knew that even though we don’t like the USSR/Russia, we have to have functional relations with them for our own safety.
This is foolishness, putting domestic politics ahead of US national interests.
The US has to portray Russia as “the enemy” in order to keep the profits rolling in for the military-industrial complex and its shareholders. And the military-industrial complex in turn makes sure that members of Congress and the Senate play ball because otherwise they won’t get the nice big campaign contributions.