State Department orders Russia to close consulate, annexes

The Consulate-General of Russia in San Francisco.
(Image credit: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

On Thursday, the State Department ordered Russia to close three of its consular offices in the U.S. Russia has until Saturday to vacate a consulate in San Francisco, a consular annex in New York, and a chancery annex in Washington, D.C.

The order was given in response to Russia's "unwarranted and detrimental" mandate in late July for the U.S. to drastically cut staff at its mission in Moscow, a retaliatory response to new sanctions passed by Congress. Earlier this month President Trump expressed his gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin for expelling hundreds of American diplomats: "I want to thank him, because we're trying to cut down on payroll," Trump quipped.

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