Russian authorities hit out at “political maneuvering” after freestyle wrestlers were denied visas to attend an important competition in the United States.
According to Russian Wrestling Federation president Mikhail Mamiashvili, a former Olympic champion, the American “embassy refused to meet” with the wrestlers when they went to request visas.
As things stand, they are set to miss the World Cup event in Iowa City from April 7-8.
Former heavyweight boxing champion and Russian politician Nikolai Valuev blasted the “very clear political maneuvering in this affair”.
Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the move as “an example of the United States obstructing Russian athletes from participating in international competitions”.
American embassy spokeswoman Maria Olson, quoted by Russian media, blamed Russian authorities for diplomatic restrictions imposed on the embassy.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have the capacity to answer every one of the numerous requests from the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, especially when it relates to large numbers of people,” she said.
Diplomatic relations between Washington and Moscow are at one of their lowest ebbs since the end of the Cold War.
Tit for tat diplomatic measures brought on by US sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis saw the American embassy in Moscow reduced from 755 to 455 staff last year.
That was in response to the Donald Trump administration confiscating two Russian diplomatic properties in the US.
Contacted by AFP, a USA Wrestling spokesman denied all knowledge of the visa issues.
“We can’t verify the Russian team’s status yet, as we have not been notified by their wrestling federation,” the spokesman said.
However, a statement on the USA Wrestling website said that in light of Iran’s predictable withdrawal from the competition and a lack of contact from Russia, they had “proactively sought commitments from Mongolia and India to compete in the event”.
Mamiashvili, the Greco-Roman middleweight champion from the Seoul Olympics in 1988, hasn’t given up hope, claiming USA Wrestling were doing “everything they can” to facilitate Russian participation in Iowa.
“If we have to miss the World Cup event it would be a huge tragedy,” he said.