The U.S. Consulate building in St. Petersburg before preparing to close on March 31, 2018. Russia has asked the U.S. to close its consulate in St. Petersburg after the U.S. ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle in the wake of a boycott by several countries in Europe and the United States over Russia’s poisoning of a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom.
The Trump (Trump) administration has notified Congress that it is prepared to close the two remaining U.S. consulates in Russia, leaving the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
After obtaining a copy of the notice on Friday (Dec. 18), the Associated Press reported that the State Department notified Congress on Dec. 10 that it would permanently close the U.S. consulate in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok, as well as temporarily close operations at the U.S. consulate in Yekaterinburg, east of the Urals.
The exact timing of the State Department’s closure of the two consulates in Russia has not yet been determined. According to the notice, the staff of the two U.S. consulates will be transferred to the embassy in Moscow, while the local staff will be dismissed. The consulates in Vladivostok and Ekaterinburg employ a total of 10 U.S. diplomats and 33 local staff members.
The U.S. consulate in Vladivostok had been temporarily closed in March due to the coronavirus (CCP) pandemic, and U.S. staff had begun removing sensitive equipment, documents and other items. The State Department estimates that permanently closing the Vladivostok consulate would save $3.2 million in annual costs.
In a notice to Congress, the State Department said the closure was due to a cap Russian authorities placed on the number of U.S. diplomats allowed to work in Russia in 2017.
“The latest action comes in response to ongoing staffing challenges at the U.S. Mission in Russia following the 2017 staffing cap set by Russia on the U.S. Mission in Russia and the impasse with Russia over diplomatic visas,” the notice said.
With the closure of the two U.S. consulates in Russia, the only U.S. diplomatic facility in Russia is the embassy in Moscow.
In 2018, the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom triggered the U.S. to order Russia to close its consulate in Seattle, followed by a Russian order to close the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg.
With the closure of these two U.S. consulates in Russia, all consular services will be handled at the Moscow embassy, and consular services in areas east of Moscow – for those who need visa services to travel, study, do business, and immigrate between the two countries – will be affected.
The closure of the two remaining U.S. consulates in Russia has nothing to do with the current massive SolarWinds cyberattack leak. The closure notices were issued on the 10th, while the hacked cyberattack first surfaced on the 13th.
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