U.S. Will Shut Last Two Consulates In Russia

[Elderberry]

Radio Free Europe 12/20/2020

The United States plans to close its last two consulates in Russia, leaving only an embassy in Moscow as relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate.

The State Department confirmed on December 19 that the United States will shutter its consulate in Vladivostok in the Far East and suspend operations at the consulate in Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in consultation with Ambassador John Sullivan, decided to close the two consulates “as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the safe and secure operation of the U.S. diplomatic mission in the Russian Federation,” a State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL in a statement.

“The Department’s decision on the U.S. consulates in Russia was taken to optimize the work of the U.S. mission in Russia,” the spokesperson said. Some diplomatic personnel would be moved to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow “to advance our foreign policy interests in Russia in the most effective and safe manner possible.”

The decision will not impact Russian consulates in the United States.

More: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-closing-russia-consulates-pompeo-cyberattack/31009173.html