Washington, Dec 7 (UNI/Sputnik) Russian-US talks on diplomatic visas have borne some fruit and there is hope for further progress, Consul General in Houston Alexander Zakharov told Sputnik on Monday.
“[O]ver the past month there have been positive trends thanks to the talks …. You know a bilateral dialogue is under way in Vienna – there have been some positive shifts. We hope that this will lead to some more meaningful results,” Zakharov said.
“The workload [at the consulate general] has increased significantly, especially since we were downsized on the west coast,” he explained. “At the order of the US authorities, the consulates general in Seattle and San Francisco have been closed. Now we have to work with 13 states. This is a huge population, a large number of our compatriots, a large volume of tasks that we face…. We try to cope, with it.”
He recalled that the Russian leadership has repeatedly offered the US mutually canceling all restrictive measures on diplomatic missions.
“Unfortunately, the American side has not yet agreed to this,” Zakharov said. “But nevertheless negotiations and our persistent position are yielding results.”
Last week, The Washington Post reported that Russia and the United States have neared a deal on granting visas to American embassy staff in Moscow.
UNI
