BREAKING. State Department Orders Russia to Close Three Offices in the United States

By streiff | 1:22 PM on August 31, 2017

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 13, 2017, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. North Korea has released Otto Warmbier, an American serving a 15-year prison term with hard labor for alleged anti-state acts, Tillerson said in an announcement that came as former NBA player Dennis Rodman was paying a return visit to Pyongyang. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson orders three Russian diplomatic facilities closed in retaliation for Russia expelling some 755 US personnel. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

To recap:

In December, Barack Obama expelled some 35 Russian “diplomats” and ordered two of their compounds, one on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and another in New York City, seized.

In July, Russia ordered the United States to reduce US staffing by some 750 persons, bringing the US and Russia diplomatic missions to about the same size, and seized two US diplomatic properties.

In August, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he’d respond to the Russian move by September 1. Watch the video of his remarks here.

Today, the State Department ordered Russia to close three diplomatic facilities by Saturday. They are the Russian consulate in San Francisco, the chancery annex in Washington, DC, and a consular annex in New York City. This is the official statement:

The State Dept is ordering Russia to close its Consulate General in San Francisco, a chancery annex in DC, & a consular annex in NYC by 9/2 pic.twitter.com/5kH0vxgKKW

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) August 31, 2017