The US authorities independently packed and
removed it to Washington, according to the Russian embassy in the United States.
WASHINGTON,
October 24. /TASS/. US authorities prohibited Russian diplomats from entering
the building of the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco to remove the
consular archive, the Russian embassy in the United States said on itswebsiteon Monday.
"The
US authorities did not give us access to the building of the Russian Consulate
General in San Francisco, that was closed by their decision on September 2, in
order to take away the consular archive. Instead they independently packed and
removed it to Washington," the statement said.
The
diplomatic mission noted that this was done "regardless of repeated
protests of the Russian Foreign Ministry and the embassy."
On October 23, the archive was moved to the Russian embassy.
The
statement stresses that "consular archives and documents are inviolable at
any time and regardless of their whereabouts."
"By
its actions, the US party once again grossly violated the relevant provisions
of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the bilateral consular
convention," the Russian embassy said.
"The
official Washington's contemptuous attitude to the international law, our
diplomatic and consular facilities and property has opened the possibility of
similar dealing with US missions in Russia. That is in accordance with the
principle of mutuality, diplomatic relations are based on," the Russian
diplomatic mission concludes.
On
September 3, the US closed the Russian trade mission in Washington and its
branch in New York.
It also
demanded that the Consulate General in San Francisco should stop its activities
and free the residence of the Consul General in that city. The US authorities
gave Moscow time until October 1 to ensure that employees of the Consulate
General in San Francisco were able to pack their things. The US administration
believes that those facilities are no longer subject to diplomatic immunity.
Nevertheless,
they are still the property of Russia, with the exception of the branch of the
trade mission in New York, which was on lease.
These
facilities actually passed under control of the Diplomatic Security Service of
the US State Department and its department of foreign missions.
Source: ITAR-TASS 24-10-2017
