SAN FRANCISCO, August 31, (THEWILL) – The United States has told Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco and two annex buildings in Washington, D.C. and New York City, in response to Kremlin’s decision to shrink the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia.
THEWILL recalls that Moscow, last month, ordered the United States to cut its diplomatic and technical staff in Russia by more than half, to 455 people, after Congress overwhelmingly approved new sanctions against Russia.
Responding to the action by Russia, the US State Department, in a statement released on Thursday by State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said Russia’s action was unwarranted.
“We believe this action was unwarranted and detrimental to the overall relationship between our countries,” the statement read.
“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.”
