Ryabkov, Shannon to Address US, Russia Diplomatic Property in Monday Meeting

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov will address the issue of a diplomatic property during their meeting in Washington DC on July 17, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Sputnik) — Russia's Izvestia newspaper on Tuesday cited a Foreign Ministry source as saying that Moscow planned to expel some 30 US diplomats and seize several US properties in Russia. The plan is said to be in response to Washington's refusal to return two Russian diplomatic compounds seized in December 2016.

“I am not going to comment on any — or speculate on any — specific Russian actions, any specific Russian threats. It’s a hypothetical at this point. I just know that the under-secretary is looking forward to sitting down with his counterpart, and we’ll see where it goes from there,” Nauert said. “We’ll leave it for Mr. Shannon and Mr. Ryabkov to have these conversations on Monday.”

Earlier Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint news conference with European diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini that Moscow will take retaliatory measures against Washington if the property situation is not resolved.

Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the issue with his US counterpart President Donald Trump during a meeting at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany last week.

Former President Barack Obama's administration seized the two diplomatic compounds at the end of last year as part of a number of measures in response to Russia's alleged interference in the US presidential election, an accusation Moscow has repeatedly denied.