Trump evicts Russian envoys in three cities

Official accuses White House of firing up ‘diplomatic war’

President Trump retaliated Thursday against Russia’s expulsion of U.S. diplomats by ordering Moscow to close its San Francisco consulate and scale back its presence in Washington and New York.

“We want to halt the downward spiral, and we want to move toward better relations,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. “But we’re also going to make sure that we make decisions that are best for our country.”

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Russian Foreign Minis- ter Sergey Lavrov on Thursday to tell him about the closures, which need to happen by Saturday, according to the State Department.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Lavrov “expressed regrets over the escalation of tensions in bilateral relations, which were not initiated by us.”

Russia must also shutter an official residence in San Francisco. The order closes the chancery annex in Washington and the consular annex in New York City, which house Russian trade missions.

Leonid Slutsky, who heads the Russian Duma’s international affairs committee, called the American action “a huge unfair step.”

“It means the U.S. is declaring a hot phase in the diplomatic war. The close of institutions is a lot more serious than the ousting of diplomats or the illegal curbing of diplomatic powers,” Slutsky said.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the move brings the United States and Russia into “parity.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered in July that 755 American diplomatic personnel leave Russia by Friday.

His move came days after Con- gress passed legislation strengthening financial sanctions on Moscow over its alleged meddling in the U.S. 2016 presidential election and support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The expulsion forced the State Department to suspend the processing of U.S. visas in Russia, which will resume soon at a reduced rate because of the reduction in personnel.

Though Russia expelled U.S. diplomats, the State Department is not requiring Moscow to send its diplomats home. Russian diplomats may be reassigned to other diplomatic or consular posts in the USA, the State Department said.

“The United States hopes that, having moved toward the Russian Federation’s desire for parity, we can avoid further retaliatory actions by both sides and move forward to achieve the stated goal of both of our presidents: improved relations between our two countries and increased cooperation on areas of mutual concern,” the State Department said in a statement. “The United States is prepared to take further action as necessary and as warranted.”

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, applauded Trump’s decision.

“The Russian government has a long history of harassing American diplomats, and for the last eight years, President Putin has been emboldened by, among other things, the lack of consequences for these actions,” Corker said. “The steps taken today by President Trump and his administration are wholly appropriate.”

“We want to halt the downward spiral.” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders