Every Russian diplomat in the United States runs the risk of facing the threat of expulsion, Dmitry Polyansky, the first deputy representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, said at a press conference.
Answering the question whether there is a threat that steps similar to the expulsion of 27 diplomats could affect the staff of the Russian permanent mission to the UN, Polyansky said: “As for the threat, every Russian diplomat who works in the United States faces a certain threat.”
“This is unpredictable, because there were situations when many of my colleagues were asked to leave the country. Nobody is safe, including me, because you never know what will come to mind for our American friends”, explained the first deputy head of the Russian Federation.
According to him, this situation is abnormal.
“We have said many times that it needs to be changed, that we must remove all these obstacles, that we must return to the normal functioning of our diplomatic missions.”
As Polyansky pointed out, the issue is complex, since we are also talking about Russian diplomatic property, on which the American authorities do not allow Russian diplomats.
“And I sympathize with my colleagues in Washington. They face more challenges than we do. Mission status to the UN helps us a lot. But there are certain measures that affect us too”.
As Polyansky pointed out, the staff of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation still face “very problematic and nervous situations” when they want to bring someone to the UN headquarters building, despite the fact that “this should happen automatically, as part of the obligations of the United States as a host country.