The seizure of Russian diplomatic property in Washington and San Francisco in 2017 is an attempt by the United States to “annoy” the Russian Federation, Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said on the seventh anniversary of the incident.
“It is obvious to us that we are talking about a trivial settling of scores, a desire to annoy and take revenge on Russia. When the US administration doesn’t like someone’s foreign policy, it starts attacking everything it can reach. Without trial or investigation, with total disregard for legal norms and for the postulates themselves,” – the diplomat stressed.
The ambassador noted the continued efforts of Russian officials to return diplomatic property, but the US side even rejects requests to assess the condition of the property.
He also noted that in the seven years since the incident, the Russian Federation has not received “a single legally valid argument to justify Washington’s atrocious behavior.”
Antonov also stressed that the reason for violating the principle of inviolability of property is not “vague references to certain suspicions of espionage.”
“We will seek the unconditional restoration of our rights to use and dispose of our diplomatic property. We call on the US authorities to come to their senses. We remind them that the United States has the most extensive network of diplomatic presence in the world. The precedent set by Washington destroys the rules of civilized interstate communication and will inevitably come back to haunt the United States.“, — the ambassador summarized optimistically.
For his part, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova In March 2022 he declared that Every hostile step taken by the United States will be met with a response from Moscow.
how to remember “News”, Two and a half years ago, Zakharova stressed that American representatives are trying to absolve themselves of responsibility for the state of Russian-American relations that is on the verge of a complete breakdown:
“They often point the finger at Russia, accusing it of “escalation” because we never miss a strike and always respond to hostile attacks in a mirror-image or asymmetrical manner.”
According to the diplomat, Washington considers it normal to expel Russian diplomats for fictitious reasons, seize their property, close diplomatic missions and then hypocritically wonder when Russia responds “in kind”:
“Moreover, the traditional Anglo-Saxon arrogance or self-confidence, which “allows” to dictate conditions and rules to others, is not important here. It is time for the Americans to learn that every hostile step will inevitably be followed by a reaction that will be painful for them in any case.
“We do not shy away from dialogue and are ready to negotiate, but strictly on an equal footing, subject to counter-movements, the signs of which are not visible in Washington even with a magnifying glass.”
In 2016 after the victory. Donald Trump In the US presidential election, the administration of his predecessor barack obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats.
In 2017, at the request of the State Department, the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco was closed and its building and the residence of the Consul General were seized. The building of the Russian trade mission in Washington was taken over.
Several hostile measures were taken against Russia in 2018, and in the spring of 2021, the White House again expelled 10 Russian diplomats.
In September 2021, the Russian side received an ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of another 55 employees of the diplomatic missions of the Russian Federation in the United States.
In March 2022, the President of the United States joe biden demanded the expulsion of 12 diplomats from Russia’s permanent mission to the UN in New York and one Russian employee of the UN Secretariat.
