Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov "defended Russia's decision to cut U.S. diplomatic staff as reciprocal reaction to the U.S. expelling Russian diplomats last December." | AP Photo Lavrov: Russia preparing 'tough response' to San Francisco consulate closure

Russia is preparing a "tough response" to the U.S. government’s decision to close the Russian consulate in San Francisco, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday.

The Associated Press reports that Lavrov said at a top Russian diplomacy school Friday that the Kremlin "will have a tough response to the things that come totally out of the blue to hurt us and are driven solely by the desire to spoil our relations with the United States."


He also “defended Russia's decision to cut U.S. diplomatic staff as reciprocal reaction to the U.S. expelling Russian diplomats last December,” per the AP.

The Trump administration told Russia it was closing the San Francisco consulate in response to Moscow’s request that the U.S. decrease its diplomatic staff in the country. It also told Russia to close a chancery annex in Washington and a consular annex in New York.

