Unic Press UK: The United States government has ordered the closure, with effect from 2nd September 2017, of the Russian Consulate in San Francisco, chancery annex in Washington and consulate annex in New York, the U.S. Department of State said in a statement released today.
“The United States has fully implemented the decision by the Government of the Russian Federation to reduce the size of our mission in Russia. We believe this action was unwarranted and detrimental to the overall relationship between our countries.
“In the spirit of parity invoked by the Russians, we are requiring the Russian Government to close its Consulate General in San Francisco, a chancery annex in Washington, D.C., and a consular annex in New York City. These closures will need to be accomplished by September 2.
“With this action both countries will remain with three consulates each. While there will continue to be a disparity in the number of diplomatic and consular annexes, we have chosen to allow the Russian Government to maintain some of its annexes in an effort to arrest the downward spiral in our relationship.” (U.S. Department of State: 31st August 2017)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been informed of Washington decision by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a phone call; and Lavrov “expressed regret over the escalation of tensions” in the relations between the two countries, which were not initiated by Russia, the RT reported.
Last month, July, the U.S. Congress voted to punish the Russian government over the so-called interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and Russia’s annexation of Crimea, despite the fact that the U.S. president had publicly denounced the decision of Congress as “seriously flawed” prior/after signing the ‘Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act’.
Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time & very dangerous low. You can thank Congress, the same people that can't even give us HCare!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2017
In response to the U.S. sanctions in relation to ‘Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act’ that was signed into law by President Trump on 2nd August 2017, the Russian government said the U.S. must cut its diplomatic staff in Russia by 755 people before 1st September 2017.
