20 Apr 2018 14:32

Labor minister skeptical of proposed ban on Americans working in Russia

MOSCOW. April 20 (Interfax) - A full or partial ban on the employment of United States citizens in Russia proposed as part of the countersanctions bill would concern a handful of people, Russian Labor and Social Security Minister Maxim Topilin told reporters on Friday.

"How many U.S. citizens are employed here? Maybe 82 or a hundred. Very few, officially," Topilin said when asked about how the countersanctions bill could affect the Russian labor market.

State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, leaders of the four parliamentary factions, and State Duma First deputy speaker Ivan Melnikov from the Communist Party introduced the countersanctions bill on April 13.

The bill envisages "a full or partial ban on the employment of citizens of the United States and/or other foreign countries, including highly skilled specialists, in Russia."