"While I’ve been a tough critic of the Kremlin, I also believe it’s important to maintain dialogue especially during moments of tension", Murphy said. "Unfortunately, the Russian government is further isolating their country by blocking our visit and several others in recent months".
Murphy said that following the recent collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, this potentially could be a perilous moment for the bilateral relationship between Washington and Moscow.
On 26 August, US Senator Ron Johnson said the Russian government denied him a visa to enter the country. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik that Johnson is on a "stop list" in response to Washington's move to include Russians in a similar travel ban list, and he has long been aware of this.
The Russian Embassy in the United States said earlier in the day that Johnson had not applied for a visa.
