The Russian State Department announced on Friday, July 30, that Moscow was forcing Russian employees to withdraw from diplomatic missions in Russia, warning that their departure would have an impact on U.S. diplomatic operations in the country.

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«Since August, the Russian government has banned the United States from hiring, hiring or using Russian or third-party personnel as temporary employees, except for our security services.Anthony Blinken said in a statement. As a result, the Secretary of State added that 182 Russian employees and dozens of temporary workers working at the US Embassy in Moscow and the Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg consulates would be laid off.

«These unfortunate actions will have a strong impact on the operations of the US Diplomatic Mission in Russia, including the security of our officials and diplomatic exchanges with the Russian Government.“, He said.

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In April, Washington adopted a number of sanctions targeting Russia, accusing Moscow of electoral interference and cyber-attacks. Ten Russian diplomats have been expelled from the United States and Russian banks have been banned from borrowing from Russia. Russia responded by expelling ten U.S. diplomats, threatening Washington-funded funds and NGOs and failing to recognize several members of Joe Biden’s government.

«We regret that the Russian government is forcing us to reduce our services and operations, and the United States will respect our commitment to seek a lasting and unpredictable relationship with Russia.», Anthony Blinkan concluded.