18th December, 2017
The Russian flags which were taken down from seized Russian diplomatic properties in the U.S. have been displayed in the Russian Embassy in Washington, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
The flags were displayed on Sunday during a reception devoted to the 210th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Russian Embassy in the U.S. confirmed to Sputnik in October that the Russian flags had been removed from Russian properties in San Francisco and Washington, DC.
They were later returned to the Russian side.
In early September, Russian diplomats lost access to the buildings themselves as the U.S. authorities closed down the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco and trade missions in New York City and Washington, DC.
U.S. officials said the move came in response to Moscow’s decision in late July to reduce the number of diplomatic staff in Russia to 455 people, the same number of diplomatic personnel Russia has in the United States.
After Russian diplomatic staff left the compounds, U.S. security agents entered the premises to conduct searches.
Moscow said that the actions of the U.S. constituted a violation of international law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Relations.