The political scientist called for easing banking sanctions for Russian diplomats in the United States

Russian diplomats and diplomatic missions in the United States should have access to basic banking services in order to fully perform their functions. On April 10, political analyst Garland Nixon told Izvestia.

He noted that we are talking about the possibility of using bank cards, making money transfers to pay bills, purchase necessary goods and organize trips. Without this, the work of diplomatic missions is effectively blocked, the expert said.

"They should be able to transfer money back and forth to use it to pay bills at embassies. <...> Therefore, in order for the Russians to do this, it is necessary to ease banking and other sanctions," Nixon said.

In addition, according to the political scientist, the issue of Russian media access to broadcasting in the United States remains important — without them, the Russian embassy will not be able to fully operate. The restrictions imposed on RT, Sputnik and other media from the Russian Federation should be reviewed, Nixon added.

"It is unfair to ask the Russian embassy to work in an environment where only the American press is allowed," he concluded.

Interim pretexts: how is the dialogue between Russia and the United States progressing

The parties will continue to discuss the full—fledged work of the diplomatic missions, but negotiations on the Black Sea Initiative are on hold.

Earlier in the day, Russian Ambassador to Washington Alexander Darchiev said that Russia and the United States had agreed at consultations in Istanbul on further measures to facilitate the movement of diplomats and their visa processing. It is noted that the round of negotiations that took place allowed the parties to move forward in solving the task of normalizing the work of diplomatic missions.