The Trump administration has informed members of the House of Representatives that it plans to close down the last two remaining U.S. embassies in Russia, multiple news sources reported on Sunday.
The U.S. move is part of safety and security issues at the consulates where operations had been on limited capacity over the coronavirus pandemic, reports say.
The U.S. Department of State notified legislators last week that it would permanently shutter the embassy in the Russian city of Vladivostok and temporarily halt operations at the embassy in Yekaterinburg just east of the Ural Mountains.
The closures would leave the U.S. with only one diplomatic office in Russia -- the US consulate in Moscow -- at a time of deepening frictions between the two countries. The notice comes as incoming U.S. commander in chief, President-elect Joe Biden, gets ready to occupy the White House.
The notification was sent to the House last Dec. 10 but received little attention during the time. The timing predates by three days the disclosure of news about a large-scale suspected Russian cyberattack into U.S. government and private computer networks that has raised cybersecurity fears.
The decision did not affect Russian embassies in the U.S., a State Department spokesperson disclosed in a statement emailed to Reuters on Saturday. It did not provide detailed reasons for the U.S. decision.
"The State Department's decision on the U.S. embassies in Russia was taken to optimize the work of the U.S. mission in the country," CNN quoted the spokesperson as saying Friday. U.S. officials estimated the permanent shutdown of the embassy in Vladivostok would save the government around $3.2 million a year.
The State Department's notification to Congress disclosed that the shutdown is due to limitations imposed by Russian authorities in 2017 on the number of American dignitaries allowed to work in the country.
The congressional notice said that 10 American diplomats assigned to the embassies would be reassigned to the consulate in Moscow. The job contracts of the 33 locally employed personnel will be terminated.
U.S.-Russia relations have been soured by issues emerging from conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, including accusations of Russian intervention in U.S. politics, which Moscow has consistently dismissed.
During his annual media briefing, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is optimistic incoming U.S. President-elect Joe Biden would help bring resolution to some of the major issues in relations between the two sides.
