| View of Vladivostok, Russia © AFP=News1 |
The US State Department is scheduled to close two consulates in Russia. There is an atmosphere of heightened tension as Russia is pointed out behind the recent massive cyber attacks against the US government.
According to CNN and AFP news agency on the 18th (local time), the US State Department informed the federal parliament on the 10th that it plans to close two US consulates in Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg, Russia.
As a result, the US Embassy in Moscow will be the only remaining US mission in Russia. Ten US diplomats currently at the Consulate General are reassigned to the embassy in Moscow and 33 local employees are dismissed.
A State Department spokesman said that after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo consulted closely with Russian Ambassador John Sullivan, the decision was made “to ensure the safe mission of US diplomats in Russia.”
The U.S. Department of State plans to initiate a procedure to remove all data, including computer equipment and confidential data, from consulates subject to closure. It is unclear when the closing process will be completed, CNN said.
Earlier, the U.S. Consulate General in St.
Secretary Pompeo recently argued that Russia is behind the widespread hacking of major US government departments and infrastructure systems. Russia has expressed its position that the alleged hacking was’unfounded’.
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