“I guess Putin isn’t Trump’s BFF anymore”
That’s what our publisher, rebellious and disruptive media producer Gene Gaudette, messaged to me a few minutes ago with a link to this tweet:
BREAKING: U.S. retaliates against Russia by forcing closure of its San Francisco consulate and shrinking of presence in D.C., N.Y.
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 31, 2017
The BBC also carries the story as breaking news:
US orders Russia to close San Francisco consulate and other annexes in retaliation for “unwarranted” Russian action.
The decision was made “in the spirit of parity”, the state department added.
The closures of the consulate and the annexes in Washington and New York must be completed by Saturday.
Although the state department said the US actions were in response to the “unwarranted and detrimental” reduction in the US mission in Russia, it also suggested it wanted an end to the current spat.
“While there will continue to be a disparity in the number of diplomatic and consular annexes, we have chosen to allow the Russian Government to maintain some of its annexes in an effort to arrest the downward spiral in our relationship,” the state department said in its statement on Thursday.
