Russia condemns 'blatantly hostile act' of U.S. diplomatic evictions

The Russian foreign ministry on Sunday registered its disapproval of the Trump administration's demand that Russian diplomats vacate three outposts in New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., on Saturday. The evictions were ordered in response to Moscow's recent reduction of the U.S. diplomatic presence in Russia.

"We treat these developments as a blatantly hostile act, a grave violation by Washington of international law," said the comments from Moscow. "We urge the U.S. authorities to come to their senses and immediately return the Russian diplomatic facilities," or else the U.S "will bear total blame for the ongoing degradation of the relations between our countries."

The San Francisco facility was Russia's oldest consulate in the United States, responsible for issuing some 16,000 tourist visas to Americans annually. Before the building was vacated, consulate staff on Friday apparently burned unknown items they wished to keep out of U.S. hands.

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