Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the causes of the crisis in Russia-US bilateral relations

US representatives of various levels have been trying to absolve themselves of responsibility for the state of Russian-US bilateral relations, which are nearing a total rupture. The blame is routinely laid on Russia, which is accused of causing an “escalation” because we do not miss blows and always respond to hostile attacks either in kind or asymmetrically.

Washington seems to think it is acceptable to expel Russian diplomats on trumped-up charges, seize property – or steal it, to put it bluntly, close down our diplomatic missions and then to hypocritically gape at why those “insolent Russians” repay in kind, thus hurting US missions in Russia. 

Is this a result of the traditional Anglo-Saxon arrogance or an unwavering belief in their infallibility, which lets them dictate rules and conditions to others? It doesn’t matter. It is high time the Americans realise that each hostile action will be followed by a response that will hurt them in any case.

We advise those who follow the state of Russia-US relations to take a look at the timeline of aggressive actions against the Russian diplomatic presence. The facts speak for themselves.

December 2016: Following Hillary Clinton’s defeat by Donald Trump, the Barack Obama Administration expelled 35 Russian diplomats on New Year’s Eve under the pretext of alleged election meddling, while in passing also illegally taking over two of our diplomatic properties.

August 2017: The Russian Consulate General in San Francisco was shut down at the demand of the US Department of State and its building and the Consul General’s residence were seized.  At the same time, the building of the Office of the Russian Trade Representative in Washington D.C. was also seized.

March 2018: Without stating any specific complaints, the US government demanded that 60 staff of our embassy, consulate general in New York and the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN leave the country.

April 2018: The Americans demanded that the Russian Consulate General in Seattle be closed. The Consul General’ residence, which was owned by the Russian Federation as a private property, was foreclosed just like the previously seized diplomatic properties.

September 2021: The State Department arbitrarily ordered that 24 diplomatic mission staff who had been in the United States for over three years leave the US territory.

April 2021: The US Administration announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats as part of a new wave of anti-Russia sanctions.

September 2021: Russia was issued an ultimatum that 55 more diplomatic staff of the Russian Federation who had been in the US for over three years must leave the country. They were given two deadlines, January 30, 2022 and June 30, 2022.

March 2022: Joe Biden’s Administration declared 12 diplomats serving at the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN and one Russian UN Secretariat employee personae non grata.

We do not evade dialogue and are ready to hold talks but only on equal terms, on condition there is a reciprocal movement, which at present cannot be discerned in Washington even under a magnifying glass. Quite the opposite, the US is doing everything to further hamper the performance of Russian diplomatic missions in the United States while at the same time engaging in hypocritical speculations on the need to preserve a diplomatic presence.

We urge Washington once again to think of the repercussions.