Russia and the United States could shut down their embassies, however no one in Washington had suggested doing so, US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said in an interview with TASS.
"They could be, they could very well be, although I think it would be a big mistake," the US diplomat said, when asked about whether the two countries’ embassies could be shut down. However, he said one would hardly find anyone in the US government who had suggested shutting them down.
"I would see us having to shut our embassy was if it not safe to continue operations," Sullivan added.
He pointed to the Russian government’s hawkish rhetoric on diplomatic relations, saying Moscow had suggested the two sides might reach a point where there was a complete break in relations, yet he expected the suggestions were excessive rhetoric.
"I can assure you that is not the intent of President [Joe] Biden or the US government. Having said that, there isn’t a lot more for us to talk about it at this point. We are three months into what, from my perspective, is a completely changed relationship," he concluded.
