Consulate Closure Is Fair? Yeah, Right, Says Russia

US officials may have described its order that Russia close its consulate in San Francisco and diplomatic annexes in New York and Washington by Saturday as a fair response to the slashing of the number of American diplomatic staff in Russia, but that's not how Moscow sees it. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday promised a "tough response" to an order that he suggests came "totally out of the blue to hurt us," reports the AP.

 "We sincerely want the political atmosphere to normalize," but "it takes two to tango," Lavrov added, per the Moscow Times. The US statement announcing the order, however, touted the move as one in quest for "parity" following the expulsion of hundreds of US officials in an "unwarranted and detrimental" action by Russia.

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