US orders Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco

THE UNITED States has forced Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco and scale back its diplomatic presence in Washington and New York.

The Trump administration said the move constituted its response to the Kremlin’s “unwarranted and detrimental” decision to force the US to cut its diplomatic staff in Russia.

The US gave Russia a mere 48 hours to close its San Francisco consulate, along with smaller Russian posts in Washington and New York.

“The United States is prepared to take further action as necessary and as warranted,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. But she said the US hoped both countries could now move towards “improved relations” and “increased cooperation”.

Russia said it regretted the order and pointed the finger at the US for starting the “escalation of tensions” between the nucleararmed powers. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow was studying the decision to determine its response.

US ties to Russia have soured in recent years over deep disagreements about Ukraine, Syria and Russian hacking.

To the surprise of those who anticipated that President Donald Trump’s election would reverse that trend, the feud has only worsened this year, even as investigators continue probing whether Mr Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow’s efforts to help him get elected.

In addition to its consulate, the Russians must close an official residence in San Francisco by Saturday.

Though Russia can keep its New York consulate and Washington embassy, Russian trade missions housed in satellite offices in those two cities must shut down, said a senior Trump administration official.

The US is not expelling any Russian officials, so those who work at the closed offices can be reassigned elsewhere in the US.

In July, Mr Trump and Mr Putin signed off on a three-way deal with Jordan for a ceasefire in southwest Syria that the US says has largely held intact.