Employees of Ukrainian consulate leave Yekaterinburg

YEKATERINBURG. March 3 (Interfax) - Employees of the Ukrainian consulate in Yekaterinburg have left in the direction of the Kazakh border, the Russian Foreign Ministry's representative in Yekaterinburg Alexander Kharlov told Interfax.

"We have received from the Ukrainian side a note that a decision has been made to close the Ukrainian consulate in Yekaterinburg. We helped the Ukrainian side promptly close the consulate, and they left in the direction of the Kazakh border on motor transport around 5:00 a.m. today," he said.

The security of the consulate staff was ensured, he said.

It was reported last Friday that the Ukrainian consulate in Yekaterinburg continued working and was serving visitors according to booked appointments. There was a small line of people seeking visas as the entrance to the consulate, and security let people inside in small groups. The police were near the building. In the meantime, the site of the Ukrainian consulate in Yekaterinburg stopped working on Friday.

Employees of the diplomatic mission said the closure of the consulate or suspension of its work was not planned, saying there were no such orders.