The Minister of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov has warned that Moscow may strike back due to the closure of the Russian Consulate in San Francisco.
During a meeting with students and faculty of MGIMO , Lavrov touched on the topic of Russian-American relations. He quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that Russia does not seek a quarrel with US and was always friendly to the American people. The official said that they are open for constructive cooperation, if it would serve Russian interests. However, he assured that Moscow will not leave unanswered the closure of the Consulate in San Francisco. According to him, the Russian side will react after the analysis of this step of Washington.
«As you know, it takes two to tango. Yet, in my opinion, our partners over and over again to fulfill individual break dance» — concluded Lavrov.
Recall that Russia reduced the staff of the US diplomatic mission in Russia. In response, America has stopped issuing nonimmigrant visas. U.S. officials argue that Russia should refrain from retaliation, noting that a staff reduction was based on the fact that diplomatic missions of the two countries entered the «parity».
Currently, both countries support three consulates on the territory of each other, and presumably a similar number of diplomats.
