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We Work to Improve Relations With Russia After Consulate's Closure - US Embassy

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The US Embassy in Moscow said that it would continue to work on improving US-Russian relations after the closure of the US Consulate General in St. Petersburg.
Sputnik

The mission’s Deputy Chief Anthony Godfrey, Consul General Thomas Leary, and the consulate’s employees had earlier brought down the US flag from the building at 15 Furshtatskaya Street in St. Petersburg, according to the US Embassy in Moscow.

"Now the Consulate [General] is closed, but our work toward improving US-Russian relations continues," the embassy wrote on Twitter.

On Saturday night, US diplomats left the building of the Consulate General in St. Petersburg in line with Russia's demand for the consulate's closure.

READ MORE: All Russian Diplomats Expelled From US Return to Moscow

US St. Petersburg Consulate Notifies Russians of Visa Appointments Cancellation
Earlier in the week, the US administration decided to expel 60 Russian diplomats and close the Russian Consulate General in Seattle over Russia's alleged involvement in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former GRU colonel who worked for UK intelligence, and his daughter Yulia in the UK town of Salisbury.

Russia, which has categorically denied the accusations, announced an expulsion of 58 diplomats from the US Embassy in Moscow and two employees from the US Consulate General in Yekaterinburg, as well as the closure of the US Consulate General in St. Petersburg.

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