MOSCOW, October 21. /TASS/. The US actions against the Russian representations, including the removal of the state flags from the diplomatic property in the US, are a black day for the countries, but relations are not over, Russia’s senator and former Ambassador to the US Sergei Kislyak said in an interview with the Vesti V Subbotu weekly program on the Rossiya 1 television channel on Saturday.
"I do not think this is the end to our relations," he said. "There are many things to speak about, and we will speak and, of course, we shall not forget this."
"This will remain in our relations as a black day from the point of view what the Americans are doing to Russia," he said. The policy of the US authorities is an "arrogant continuation of the policy, which used to be also before the current administration, though even tougher."
On October 11, Russian flags were removed from the Russian trade mission in Washington and the building of the consulate-general in San Francisco, California.
In a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that the US authorities order to remove Russian flags from the seized diplomatic facilities was unacceptable.
"Lavrov said the US authorities’ order to remove Russian flags from our diplomatic facilities previously seized by them was unacceptable," The Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the phone call. 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 "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.