Russian Diplomats to Provide Consular Services in San Francisco Within Month

SAN FRANCISCO (Sputnik) - Employees of the Consular Section of the Russian Embassy in the United States will visit San Francisco within one month to provide consular services to locals, Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov told reporters on the sidelines of the Fort Ross Dialogue Forum in San Francisco.

"Today, a lot of Russian people came to me — who live here or in nearby cities due to various reasons — who experience big difficulties in consular services," Antonov said on Monday. "I want to affirm everyone that we will be doing consular visits here more often to make it easier for Russian people to live here."

He added that the first consular visit will take place "within one month."

In August 2017, the administration of US President Donald Trump shut down the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco as well as Russian trade missions in Washington, DC and New York City.

READ MORE: Russia Reaffirms Readiness for Mutually-Beneficial Dialogue With US — Antonov

Washington’s decision came after Moscow announced that the diplomatic presence of the United States in Russia would be scaled down by 755 people to 455, the same number of diplomatic personnel Russia has in the United States, following US expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats.

In March, the United States also closed the Russian Consulate in Seattle over allegations of Moscow's involvement in the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom, though the Kremlin firmly denied the allegation. The move left Russian residents on the US West Coast with no diplomatic facilities nearby.