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Removal of flags from Russian diplomatic facilities unacceptable, Lavrov tells Tillerson

The Russian top diplomat "confirmed Moscow’s determination to prepare legal cases in order to return the illegally seized Russian property"

MOSCOW, October 12. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stressing that the US authorities order to remove Russian flags from the seized diplomatic facilities was unacceptable, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"Lavrov said the US authorities’ order to remove Russian flags from our diplomatic facilities previously seized by them was unacceptable," the statement reads. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Russian top diplomat "confirmed Moscow’s determination to prepare legal cases in order to return the illegally seized Russian property."

The Russian foreign minister also said that "the US authorities’ ongoing arbitrariness runs contrary to Washington’s high-level statements expressing willingness to normalize bilateral relations which have hit an unprecedented low," the statement added.

On October 11, the US authorities removed Russian flags from the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco and trade mission in Washington. According to the Russian embassy to the United States, Moscow expressed a strong protest demanding that the flags be immediately restored in their places.