Russia Continues Work on Lawsuit Against US Over Diplomatic Property

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that Russian side is working with the lawyers on the diplomatic property issue, thoroughly working on gathering documents.

CHICAGO (Sputnik) — Russia continues its work on preparing a lawsuit against the US authorities' actions toward the Russian diplomatic property in the United States, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said.

"There are a lot of questions here. We are working with the lawyers, thoroughly working on gathering documents. This is a work that requires time," Antonov told journalists on the sidelines of the Eighth Annual Conference of the Russian American Science Association in Chicago.

On September 2, the United States shut down Russia's Consulate General in San Francisco and trade missions in New York City and in Washington, DC. US officials said the move came in response to Moscow's earlier offer to Washington to reduce the number of US diplomatic staff in Russia to 455 people, the same number of diplomatic personnel Russia has in the United States. The US security services subsequently entered the premises to perform searches.

The Russian UN mission’s legal adviser reported that the US State Department has been turning down every Russia’s request to check on the overseas diplomatic properties.

Russia said that the United States' actions constituted a violation of international law, including the Vienna convention on diplomatic and consular relations, and pledged to sue the US authorities over the situation.