WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert in a press briefing on Thursday said she welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to the US legal system after he ordered the filing of a lawsuit over the closure of diplomatic properties in the United States.
"Welcome to the American legal system. Mr. Putin has apparently met the legal system… in the United States," Nauert told reporters.
The spokesperson also noted that FBI did not take part in searches of Russian diplomatic facilities.
"The FBI was not involved…in those searches, that was diplomatic security agents. They are part of the State Department, they are trained federal agents," Nauert told reporters.
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.
Russia order the reduction after former US President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats and seized two Russian diplomatic compounds over Moscow's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election in the United States.
Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations it meddles in the US elections, characterizing them as absurd and intended to deflect public attention from actual instances of election fraud and corruption as well as other pressing concerns.
