The State Department has closed multiple Russian consulates across the United States in response to Moscow cutting the U.S. diplomatic presence in Russia.
On Friday, the department told Russian officials that they must close their consulate in San Francisco, as well as buildings in Washington D.C. and New York used for trade missions, in a move that may further heighten tensions between the two countries.
The move follows Moscow’s decision last month to force the United States to cut its diplomatic and technical staff in Russia to 455 people, matching the number of Russian diplomats in the United States.
“We believe this action was unwarranted and detrimental to the overall relationship between our countries,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Thursday, adding that the United States had complied with the request.
“In the spirit of parity invoked by the Russians,” Nauert said, “the United States has required the Russian government to close its San Francisco consulate and two annexes in Washington, D.C. and New York by Sept. 2.”
“Even after these closures, Russia will still maintain more diplomatic and consular annexes in the United States than we have in Russia,” a senior White House official told Reuters. “We’ve chosen to allow the Russian government to maintain some of its annexes in an effort to arrest the downward spiral in our relationship.”
In July, President Donald Trump signed a bill overwhelmingly approved by Congress imposing sanctions on Russia for their alleged attempt to interfere in the 2016 presidential campaign, as well as their failure to implement a ceasefire in Ukraine. It also targeted Iran and North Korea.
However, Trump also expressed reservations that the bill encroached on presidential authority, harmed U.S. businesses, and limited the administration’s ability to improve relations with Russia.
Before the end of his term, former President Barack Obama also expelled 35 Russian diplomats and closed down two embassy summer houses that he claimed were being used for espionage.
Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump regularly discussed the possibility of improving relations with Russia, although, amidst the ongoing retaliations, some commentators argue they are now at a post Cold-war low.
However, Russian leader Vladimir Putin recently said he could not see an improvement in relations “any time soon,” despite what was described as a successful meeting between himself and Trump at July’s G20 summit.
“We have waited long enough, hoping that the situation would perhaps change for the better,” he said. But it seems that even if the situation is changing, it’s not for any time soon.”
You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com
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