Moscow calls "limited" U.S. visa services in Russia "regrettable"

MOSCOW, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry Tuesday said it was not satisfied with the limited resumption of U.S. visa issuance in Russia.

"We definitely welcome the restoration to the previous number of places where Russians can apply for U.S. visas ... But it is regrettable that, as the U.S. embassy said, the visa services will in fact continue to be limited," the ministry said in a statement.

The U.S. embassy in Russia said Monday that the U.S. consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok will begin to offer limited interviews for non-immigrant visas from December 11.

"Our services, however, will not return to the level we maintained prior to the Russian Federation's unwarranted demand that we dramatically reduce the number of personnel at the U.S. embassy and our three consulates," the statement said.

The U.S. embassy had suspended non-immigrant visa operations at the three U.S. consulates indefinitely in August. Moscow was the only place where applications could be made for an American visa after Russia ordered the U.S. mission to cut its staff by 755 people in July.

Prior to that, Russia and the United States launched rounds of mutual sanctions amid prolonged spats over whether Moscow had interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Enditem