U.S. grabs 3 of Russia’s diplo posts

Mayor de Blasio and former city councilman Sal Albanese meet in a Democratic primary debate on Wednesday.

The debate, sponsored by CBS and the Daily News, will air live at 7 p.m. on CBS2 News, and simulcast in Spanish on WLNY-TV 10/55. On the radio, it will air on 1010WINS and NewsRadio 880. The Daily News will stream the hour-long event live at NYDailyNews.com. Other sponsors include CUNY, which will host the debate at its Graduate Center in Midtown, Common Cause New York, the New York Immigration Coalition and Rock the Vote. THE UNITED STATES seized control Saturday of three Russian diplomatic posts in the U.S. after confirming the Russians had complied with the Trump administration’s order to get out within two days, officials said.

As the Kremlin cried foul, accusing Washington of bullying tactics, the U.S. disputed Moscow’s claims that American officials threatened to “break down the entrance door” to one of the facilities, and that the FBI was “clearing the premises.”

Not true, said a senior State Department official, adding that U.S. officials had joined Russian Embassy personnel for walk throughs of the three buildings.

“These inspections were carried out to secure and protect the facilities and to confirm the Russian government had vacated the premises,” the official said in a statement Saturday.

Russia has been incensed by the move to shutter its consulate in San Francisco and trade offices in Washington and New York, actions the U.S. took in retaliation for Moscow’s decision last month to force the U.S. to cut its diplomatic personnel in Russia to 455. Moscow has accused the U.S. of violating international law by shuttering the facilities, a charge the U.S. disputes.

On Saturday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the U.S. deputy chief of mission in Moscow, Anthony Godfrey, to deliver a formal protest note calling the purported trade office search an “unprecedented aggressive action.”