Smoke seen pouring from Russian consulate chimney

‘It was not unintentional. They were burning something,’ says San Francisco Fire Department

MOSCOW— Russia vowed Friday to respond to a U.S. order to shut the Russian Consulate in San Francisco and offices in Washington and New York, but also indicated that Moscow was not inclined to raise the stakes in the diplomatic tit-fortat between the two countries.

A day after the Trump administration ordered its closure, acrid black smoke was seen pouring from a chimney at the consulate in San Francisco.

Firefighters who arrived at the scene were turned away by consulate officials who came from inside the building.

People who came from inside the building were heard telling firefighters that there was no problem and that consulate staff were burning unidentified items in a fireplace.

Mindy Talmadge, a spokesperson from the San Francisco Fire Department, said a call about the smoke was received and a crew was sent to investigate, but determined the smoke was coming from the chimney. “They had a fire going in their fireplace,” she said.

Talmadge said she did not know what they were burning on a day when normally cool San Francisco temperatures had already climbed to 35 C by noon.

“It was not unintentional. They were burning something in their fireplace,” she said.

The consulate’s workers are hurrying to shut Russia’s oldest consulate in the U.S. ahead of a Saturday deadline.

The Trump administration said the order issued Thursday 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.

“The United States is prepared to take further action as necessary and as warranted,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said. Still, Nauert said Washington hoped both countries could now move toward “improved relations” and “increased co-operation.”

The U.S. gave Russia 48 hours to comply with the order for the San Francisco consulate and the east coast offices. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that Moscow would reply with firmness, but needs time to study Washington’s directive and to decide on a response.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian news agencies later Friday that the Kremlin “regrets” the latest U.S. move and needs to “think carefully about how we could respond.”

Ushakov also left room for Russia to refrain from retaliation.

“On the other hand, one does not want to go into a frenzy because someone has to be reasonable and stop,” he said.

American officials argued that Russia had no cause for retribution now, noting that Moscow’s ordering of U.S. diplomatic cuts last month was premised on bringing the two countries’ diplomatic presences into “parity.”

Both countries will now maintain three consulates in each other’s territory.