The Trump administration has notified Congress that it intends to shutter the last two remaining U.S. consulates in Russia. The moves are "in response to ongoing staffing challenges of the U.S. Mission in Russia in the wake of the 2017 Russian-imposed personnel cap on the US Mission and resultant impasse with Russia over diplomatic visas," it said. Russia ordered the closure of the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg in 2018 after the U.S. ordered the Russian consulate in Seattle closed in tit-for-tat actions over the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in Britain. The consulates in Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg employ a total of 10 American diplomats and 33 local staff. The department estimated the permanent closure of the Vladivostok consulate would save $3.2 million per year.

Source: Fox News December 19, 2020 13:52 UTC