Russia may put restrictions on the travel of US diplomats around the country in the event the US side makes similar moves first, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at a meeting with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon in Helsinki on Monday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Ryabkov said that the conditions for US diplomats working in Russia will be changed to reflect the restrictions for Russian diplomats in the US, according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"The conditions for the stay of US diplomats in Russia are being adjusted to reflect the restrictions established for our representatives," Rybkov was quoted in the statement said.
The ministry added that Ryabkov again expressed protest in connection with the "hostile actions by the United States and the US encroachment on diplomatic immunity." He called on US authorities "to stop destroying Russian-American relations and undermining the international law, which is fraught with grave consequences, and start to search for solutions to the problems that have accumulated through no fault of ours."
On August 31, the US notified the Russian Foreign Ministry that it would have to vacate its consulate general in San Francisco, the trade mission building in Washington DC, and the leased offices of the Russian trade mission in New York in three days' time. On September 2, authorities searched and then seized control of the consulate and the Washington trade mission, notwithstanding the fact that both are Russian property and thus enjoy diplomatic immunity.The Russian Foreign Ministry said that US actions constituted an outrageous violation of international law, including the Vienna convention on diplomatic and consular relations, and a Russian-US bilateral treaty. Moscow is currently believed to be considering retaliatory measures.
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