The Russian diplomat
slammed the intrusion into the residence of Russian Consul General in Seattle
as a gross violation of the international law.
MOSCOW, April 26.
/TASS/. Moscow insists on the return of all six Russian diplomatic facilities
seized by the United States, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria
Zakharova said on Thursday.
"We insist on
the return of all six facilities of Russian property seized by the US,"
the diplomat stressed.
According to
Zakharova, Russian representatives are not allowed to these facilities even to
check the work of utility systems. The US officials have recommended many times
that Russia should sell this property, she noted.
"We expect that
the global community will pay attention to this actual state robbery to which
the US authorities have downgraded themselves," Zakharova stressed.
Intrusion into
Russian Consul General in Seattle
The intrusion of US
representatives into the residence of Russian Consul General in Seattle is a
gross violation of the international law, Zakharova said.
"The situation
is absolutely outrageous, disgusting and unprecedented. Nothing like this has
ever happened in the history of bilateral relations," the diplomat said.
"Certainly, this
is a gross violation by the United States of basic international rules of law,
including those documented in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations, the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the bilateral
consular convention of 1964," Zakharova said.
Sources from the
Russian Embassy in Washington told TASS earlier that US officials broke into
the residence of Russia’s consul in Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday breaking
open the entrance door lock.
On Tuesday afternoon,
diplomats working at the Russian Consulate General in Seattle left the city.
Senior Consul Khalit Aisin told TASS that 23 people - diplomats and their
families, - departed in eleven cars. The convoy headed for Washington.
The US ordered to
seal off the building of the Russian Consulate General at midnight on April 1.
The Russian Consulate
General in Seattle offered consular services on the territories of Alaska,
California, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Wyoming, Utah, and Guam Island, American
Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. Henceforth, Russian citizens will have
to apply for consular assistance to the consular department of the Russian
embassy in Washington, DC and to the consulates general in New York and Houston,
Texas.
Seizure of Russian
diplomatic compounds
In late 2016, the
United States imposed another round of sanctions against Russian intelligence
services and a number of individuals having accused them of meddling with the
US elections. The US administration also expelled 35 Russian diplomats and
seized two Russian compounds in the states of New York and Maryland.
In September 2017,
the Donald Trump administration closed the Russian Consulate General in San
Francisco, the Russian trade mission in Washington and its branch in New York.
The consulate and trade mission are Russia’s state property and have diplomatic
immunity.
In late March 2018,
the US administration announced it was expelling 48 Russian diplomats and 12
diplomats from Russia’s permanent mission to the UN in New York. It also closed
the Russian consulate in Seattle.
Source: ITAR-TASS
26-04-2018
