Russian Envoy Says He Hopes US Banks to Stop Blocking Transfers for Russia's Diplomatic Missions

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov on Thursday called the US decision to exempt financial transfers that are necessary to the work of Russian diplomatic or consular missions from sanctions a step in the right direction and expressed hope that the US banks will no longer block the transfer of money.

Earlier on Thursday, the US Treasury issued a general license authorizing Americans to engage in transactions that are necessary to the official business of Russian diplomatic or consular missions.

"In general, we consider the US administration's decision to lift financial restrictions on Russian diplomatic missions to be a late one but a step in the right direction," Antonov told journalists.

"We expect that banks will correctly perceive the signal and stop blocking transactions necessary to maintain the normal functioning of Russian foreign missions," he said.

The ambassador added that it took a lot of work to steer Washington to understanding that sanctions are causing significant damage to Russian diplomats around the world.