Work Of US Companies In Russia Complicated By Diplomatic Activity Slowdown - AmCham

The reduction in US-Russia diplomatic relations and consular activities, combined with the coronavirus pandemic, has created additional difficulties for businesses, Alexis Rodzianko, the head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham), told Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th April, 2021) The reduction in US-Russia diplomatic relations and consular activities, combined with the coronavirus pandemic, has created additional difficulties for businesses, Alexis Rodzianko, the head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham), told Sputnik.

"The visas - it's the big problem for us because our companies in Russia hire hundreds of thousands of people and the top executives have to travel for management meeting in the US and they can't because they can't get visas so it's the big problem and the opposite problem sexists: US executives cannot come and meet with their colleagues here... And a part of the problem for getting the visas for Russians here is that the US embassy can't get new people in and without people they can't do interviews so it's a vicious circle," Rodzianko explained.

He said he would be happy if diplomatic activities in Moscow come back to "something closer to normal.

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"The statement of the ambassador says that we will be increasing our consular activities in Moscow. Hopefully that's good news," Rodzianko told Sputnik.

Last week, US State Department spokesperson Ned price said that the United States continued to review its diplomatic presence in Russia while taking into account staffing challenges and the general state of bilateral relations, but was hoping to reopen its missions across the country, although it remains unclear when that might happen.

Earlier, the US government informed Russian authorities that its Consulate in Vladivostok would remain in "suspended status" while the Consulate-General in Yekaterinburg was pausing visa and US citizen services.

In December, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the potential closure of US diplomatic missions in the Russian cities of Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg was unlikely to damage bilateral relations, which were already far from perfect.