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Kremlin says Russia expects US ‘wisdom approach’ in diplomatic property spat

Moscow’s patience on the issue "is wearing thin," the Kremlin spokesman noted
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. Russia still hopes that the United States would render to a reasonable approach regarding the issue of returning Russia’s recently confiscated diplomatic property, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"We still hope for a wisdom approach on behalf of our American colleagues and believe they take this issue back to the legal framework and in line with the international law," Peskov said adding that Moscow’s patience on the issue "is wearing thin."

Peskov refused to comment on the recent meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and US Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon saying this issue should be addressed to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"Our stance regarding this issue is well known and it has not undergone any adjustments or changes as it has been absolutely fair and consistent, because it is based on the principle of the inviolability of property, all the more so the inviolability of diplomatic property," Vladimir Putin’s spokesman stated.

In late December 2016, the administration of former US President Barack Obama blacklisted a total of 35 Russian diplomats working in the Russian Embassy to the United States in Washington and the Consulate General’s Office in San Francisco.

Russia’s diplomatic countryside compounds in the states of New York and Maryland have been closed for Russian diplomats as well and they have had no access to these facilities since then.

The issue of returning the Russian diplomatic property was high on the agenda during the recent meeting between Russian diplomat Ruyabkov and US Assistant Secretary of State Shannon.