Officials weigh response to U.S. diplomatic order
— Russia wrestled Friday with how to respond to the United States’ order to shut its San Francisco consulate and trade offices in Washington and New York without going overboard and aggravating the already tense situation.
Russia needs to “think carefully about how we could respond,” to one of the thorniest diplomatic confrontations between Washington and Moscow in decades, said President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov.
“One does not want to go into a frenzy, because someone has to be reasonable and stop,” Ushakov added.
The Trump administration said the Thursday order was in retaliation for the Kremlin’s “unwarranted and detrimental” demand last month that the U.S. substantially reduce the size of its diplomatic staff in Russia.
For its part, Russia justified its call for cuts to U.S. embassy and consular personnel that took effect Friday as a reaction to new sanctions the U.S. congress approved in July.
The U.S. gave Russia 48 hours, or until Saturday, to comply with the order for the San Francisco consulate and the East Coast offices. As Russian diplomats rushed to meet the deadline, black smoke was seen billowing out of the chimney at the San Francisco consulate. Firefighters, who were turned away by Russian officials when they responded to the scene, said the Russians were burning some MOSCOW thing in their fireplace.
Also Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would reply with firmness, but needs time to study Washington’s directive and to decide on a response.
“We will have a tough response to the things that come totally out of the blue to hurt us and are driven solely by the desire to spoil our relations with the United States,” Lavrov said in a televised event.