The communiqué points to “unpredictable consequences” of the war in Ukraine and the risk of unlawful imprisonment of Americans
The US embassy in Russia issued a statement Monday (February 13, 2023) urging its citizens to leave the country “immediately” because of the risks related to the nearly yearlong conflict in Ukraine.
In the statement, authorities cite the risk of harassment and “wrongful arrests” in the country, as well as limited flights and the embassy’s “limited ability” to deal with potential risks to Americans living in Russia.
“The U.S. government’s ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Russia is severely limited, particularly in areas far from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, due to Russian government travel restrictions on embassy employees and staff up to and including the continued suspension of operations, including consular services,” read an excerpt of the statement.
According to the US government, citizens in the country have been interrogated without justification and are being threatened by Russian authorities. The embassy also accuses the Russian government of failing to report the arrests of its citizens and delaying consular assistance.
“Russian security services arrested US citizens on false charges, singled out US citizens in Russia for detention and harassment, denied them fair and transparent treatment, and convicted them in secret trials or without providing credible evidence.”
In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said similar statements had been made by the US on other occasions.
“Calls not to visit Russia, to leave Russia this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that. the state ministry [dos EUA] said that many times, it’s not new,” Peskow told Tass.
The US embassy statement also accuses Russia of not recognizing the citizenship of dual nationals and consequently denying them access to consular services and preventing them from leaving the country. Peskov says people with dual citizenship are primarily considered Russian citizens.
“Well, as for the mention of citizens with dual citizenship, in any case, for us, these citizens are first and foremost citizens of Russia, regardless of what citizenship they have,” he explained.