US orders closure of Russian Consulate in San Francisco – State Department

The Russian Consulate in San Francisco, as well as two annex buildings in Washington and New York, will have to close by September 2, the US State Department announced in response to Moscow ordering the US to reduce its diplomatic personnel in Russia.

"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," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement on Thursday.

Stating that the measure comes “in the spirit of parity invoked by the Russians,” the US State Department said that now both countries will have three consulates each.

Russia will still have more diplomatic and consular annexes than the US, it added.

While saying it had “fully implemented” Moscow’s decision, Washington called Russia’s move “unwarranted and detrimental to the overall relationship between our countries.”

However, it said that “the US hopes that... we can avoid further retaliatory actions by both sides and move forward” with improving relations and cooperation between the two nations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was informed of Washington’s latest move by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a phone call. Lavrov "expressed regret over the escalation of tensions” in the relations between the two countries, which were not initiated by Russia.

Lavrov told his US counterpart that Moscow would "closely study" the new US measures and would then inform Washington of its reaction.

Russia"s consul-general in San Francisco, Sergey Petrov, said Washington"s decision will harm both Russian and American citizens living in the US region.

"Americans have often addressed our consulate with many issues, including to apply for a Russian visa," the diplomat told RIA Novosti.

In late July, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Moscow told Washington to reduce the number of its diplomatic staff in Russia to 455 people.

The order came following the US Congress’ approval of new sanctions against Russia, and aimed to equalize the number of both countries’ diplomatic staff by September 1. As a result, the US Embassy staff in Russia was cut by 755.