US searches of Russian diplomatic buildings have provoked the anger of Moscow.
ADVERTISEMENTUS searches of a Russian diplomatic building has provoked the ire of Moscow.
Russian diplomats were ordered to vacate three properties in the United States on Saturday including the six-story consulate in San Francisco.
But minutes after the Russians quit the consulate in San Francisco, a group of men in plainclothes and suits were seen conducting a search of the property.
The Russian foreign ministry in Moscow summoned a US diplomat to hand him a note of protest at what they described as an “illegal inspection” of Russian diplomatic housing calling it an “unprecedented aggressive action”.
The closure of the consulate and buildings in Washington and New York that house Russian trade missions is the latest in tit-for-tat actions by the two countries that have
helped push relations to a new post-Cold War low.
The Kremlin has said the moves to close the Russian facilities pushed bilateral ties further into a dead end.
In December, the administration of Barack Obama closed two Russian retreats in Maryland and New York.
Moscow hit back by ordering the United States to cut its diplomatic and technical staff in Russia by more than one-half.