Kremlin claims US turned visa issuance procedure for Russians into 'real hell'

In a major retaliation, Moscow lambasted Washington's move to call Russians seeking US visas as 'homeless nationals.' The US has turned its own freedom ideals and pushed visa application procedure into a 'real hell', Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying in a statement by Sputnik. As per reports, the criticism came after Washington renamed the list of visa applicants from countries that do not have US consular missions, mainly due to the unstable political situation.

It is to be noted that Russians are applying for US visas in Warsaw, the capital of Poland since May after Moscow banned the latter from employing embassy staff in Russia. All diplomatic, non-diplomatic and immigrant visas have been suspended since mid-May in response to Moscow's decision. Apart from Russia, the 'homeless' list includes Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. All the countries apply for US visas from Warsaw.

"I saw that the state department has included Russians who are ready to apply for a visa to the United States into a category of homeless nationalities... They have turned technical procedure that is banal for the 21st century into real hell. It's mockery on the verge of sadism," Sputnik quoted Zakharova as she wrote on Telegram.

American diplomats destroy consular service system in Moscow: Zakharova

The Russian Ministry spokesperson Zakharova also slammed the US government for "destroying the system of consular services." In a Telegram post, she mentioned "for many years, American diplomats were destroying the system of rendering consular services in Russia that did not create in the first place. They closed down consulates, reduced the number of consular staff, experimented with how our symmetrical response differs from the mirror one." Such actions have affected tourism, cultural exchanges apart from the right to freedom of movement she added adding that the steps have also disrupted several relationships between multinational families over the years.

With the US-Russia ties facing newer lows since Cold War, Moscow has placed America on the list of "unfriendly" countries who must seek to apply for permission to employ Russian nationals with no reserved quotas. On the other hand, the relations have been battered by Russian withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) after the US removed eight members of Moscow's allies from the multinational military group.

Image: AP