*from The Guardian at ** http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-us-embassy-cables-... * *2.36pm:* The latest leaked provides interesting context to MasterCard and Visa touchiness over WikiLeaks. The US lobbied Russia this year on behalf of Visa and MasterCard in an attempt to ensure the payment companies were not "adversely affected" by new legislation<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-us-russia-visa-mastercard>, according to American diplomats in Moscow. A state department cable released this afternoon by WikiLeaks reveals that US diplomats intervened to try to amend a draft law going through Russia's Duma. Their explicit aim was to ensure the new law did not "disadvantage" the two US firms, the cable states. The revelation comes a day after Visa – apparently acting under intense pressure from Washington – announced it was suspending all payments to WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website. Visa was following MasterCard, PayPal and Amazon, all of which have severed ties with the site and its founder Julian Assange in the last few days.