US plans to close remaining consulates in Russia

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In a notification dated December 10, the US State Department announced to Congress its intention to close the Vladivostok Consulate and suspend operations at the Yekaterinburg Consulate.

Their closures would leave the United States with only one diplomatic outpost in Russia – the U.S. Embassy in Moscow – at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries and the advice comes as President-elect Joe Biden stands preparing to take the helm of the United States. government.
Just this week – after the notice was sent to Congress – news of a widespread and continuing cyberattack against numerous federal government agencies as well as a number of Fortune 500 companies emerged. The attack is suspected of having ties to Russia.

According to the notice, a copy of which was obtained by CNN on Friday, the State Department said it “intends to take these steps in response to staffing issues at the U.S. mission in Russia at the following the staff ceiling imposed by Russia in 2017. on the American mission and the resulting stalemate with Russia on diplomatic visas. “

A State Department spokesperson confirmed the planned measures, saying that “ the Secretary of State, in close consultation with Ambassador John Sullivan, has decided to close the United States Consulate General in Vladivostok and to suspend operations at the US Consulate General in Yekaterinburg as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the security of US diplomatic mission operations in the Russian Federation. “

“The Department’s decision regarding the US consulates in Russia was taken to optimize the work of the US mission in Russia,” the spokesperson said on Friday. “The resulting realignment of staff at the US Embassy in Moscow will allow us to advance our foreign policy interests in Russia in the most effective and secure manner possible.”

“No action related to Russian consulates in the United States is planned,” they added.

The congressional notification said 10 US diplomats assigned to consulates would be reassigned to the embassy in Moscow and the 33 local employees would be laid off. The notice said that once the congressional notification process was completed, the consulates, “with the support of the Moscow embassy, ​​planned to begin procedures to remove all sensitive material from the consulate, including IT equipment. and controlled consular material “.

The department temporarily suspended operations in March at the Vladivostok consulate due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Russian government forced the closure of the US consulate in St. Petersburg in 2018 in retaliation. Now, with the planned closure of the two remaining consulates – which was first reported by The Associated Press – all services for U.S. citizens will be provided from Moscow.
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The State Department told lawmakers that “ the planned shutdown would not interfere with the Mission’s ability to advance fundamental U.S. national interests, assist U.S. citizens, or adequately oversee programs, as all these functions would continue to be performed by the Embassy of the United States of America Moscow. “

It is not known when the closures will be completed or if they will be finalized before Biden takes office next month. The president-elect said he and his team were preparing a “cost-imposing strategy” to respond to Russia for its disruptive measures, including the cyberattack if Moscow is held responsible. These measures will include, but will not be limited to sanctions, according to a source close to Biden.

CNN’s Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.

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