Russia does not seek mutual closure of embassies with US
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister says Moscow is not looking for a mutual closure of diplomatic missions and stresses the importance of these missions' role.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, commented on diplomatic tensions with the US on Rossiya-1's 60 Minutes show on Tuesday.
The Deputy Foreign Minister said Moscow is currently not interested in there being a mutual closure of diplomatic missions with the United States, as these channels of communication are important in the current situation.
"We don’t want diplomatic missions to be closed. We believe that in the current situation, such channels of communication are important though we have no illusions," he noted.
Earlier in March, after Washington's designation of 12 people from the Russian mission to the UN as personae non-gratae, demanding that they leave the country by March 7, Russia's envoy to the UN Vassily Nebenzia described the decision as "another hostile step" against Russian diplomats.