Moscow Continues Raising Issues About US Seizure Of Russian Diplomatic Property - Lavrov

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th July, 2019) Moscow continues raising questions about the seizure of the Russian diplomatic property by the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"[Russia] regularly raises the issue of Washington's violation of its obligations [seizure of the Russian diplomatic property in the United States] in a bilateral format and multilateral events. This work will be continued," Lavrov said in an interview to the AiF newspaper.

US-Russia relations took a turn for the worst in December 2016, when the administration of outgoing US President Barack Obama ordered the expulsions of Russian diplomats and closed two Russian diplomatic compounds in the states of Maryland and New York.

Moscow did not immediately order retaliatory measures since the new administration of Donald Trump was taking office in January 2017. However, bilateral relations continued experiencing a downward trend even under the new president, resulting in Washington upping the sanction pressure on Moscow in mid-2017.

The United States then shut down the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco, as well as the country's trade missions in Washington and New York. In retaliation, Moscow was forced to reduce the US diplomatic mission in Russia by over 750 diplomats. It called the actions of the US administration hostile and vowed to take the case to court.