by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 7:45 PM ET, Mon August 21, 2017
Russians hoping to visit the United States may have a long wait ahead of them.
As relations sour between the two countries, the U.S. has announced it will dramatically slash visa services in Russia, Bloomberg reported.
All non-immigrant operations will stop August 23 and will resume on a reduced scale September 1, according to a statement posted on the U.S. embassy website. As of September, only Moscow will conduct applicant interviews. Previously, such interviews were also held at U.S. consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok.
The changes come on the heels of the Kremlin ordering the U.S. to cut two-thirds of the staff at its embassy.
The statement on the U.S. embassy website says Russia's decision to reduce the United States' diplomatic presence "calls into question" that country's seriousness about pursuing better relations.
Going forward, the United States will only maintain sufficient staff to carry out essential elements of its mission. All existing visa appointments with the U.S. embassies in Russia have been canceled.
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The demand that the U.S. cut staff at its missions throughout Russia are part of Putin's retaliation for the passage of new sanctions adopted by Congress last month.
Putin said the staff reduction will bring the U.S. total in line with the number of Russian embassy staff in the United States.
This spiraling diplomatic dispute between the two nations began when President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats in the United States after Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential elections came to light.
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