Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday that Washington crossed a red line when State Department officials forced their way into the closed Russian consulate in Seattle.
“Colleagues in Washington have crossed a red line and went beyond what is permitted and reasonable,” he said in a comment to the Kommersant newspaper out Thursday.
Ryabkov called the Wednesday intrusion unparalleled in the history of international relations and suggested taking US authorities to court.
“It is another question what the reaction of the US judiciary will be,” he said, adding Russia was in for an “experiment on an issue that simply has no precedent.”
The Russian Embassy in Washington said earlier that the US intrusion on a closed Russian consulate in Seattle has dimmed prospects for improving bilateral ties.
“They took down the locks and now do whatever they please on the Russian territory. We regard such US actions as hostile against Russia,” the Embassy said in a statement.
“These actions alienate the prospects for improving US-Russia relations. They also create additional complications for contacts between Russian and American people, as well as hinder strengthening of regional and global security.”
The embassy accused US authorities of storming the residence of the Russian Consul General in violation of international norms and regulations, saying this “most certainly counts as an additional blow to the US-Russia relations, which are already in a crisis state.”
The diplomatic mission also accused US media of “raising hysteria” around Russian diplomats who were ordered to leave for allegedly conducting covert operations on the US soil. Russia’s Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said earlier the 60 expelled diplomats were demonized as spies by US media.
“Our fellow diplomats, who were expelled from the US were highly professional public servants, decent and humble people, who did all they could to develop US-Russia relations,” the Embassy argued.
Source: Sputnik
