Responding to a Russian government demand to drastically slash its diplomatic staff in Russia, the Trump administration Thursday ordered Moscow to close three of its consular offices in the United States. Russia will be required to close its Consulate General in San Francisco, the chancery annex in Washington and the consular annex in New York, the State Department announced. The move was the latest tit-for-tat action in worsening relations between Washington and Moscow, despite President Trump's expressions of friendliness toward President Vladimir Putin. Angered over a package of congressionally mandated economic sanctions, Russia had ordered the U.S. to cut its staff in Russia by around two-thirds, to 455.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 31, 2017 16:33 UTC