MOSCOW, February 11./TASS/. Russia expects that the administration of US President Joe Biden will approach the situation with the arrest of Russian diplomatic property from the point of view of common sense and normal diplomatic practice, Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily.
"We expect that the new US administration will not be politicized when addressing this issue, but will be guided by common sense and normal diplomatic practice and ethics," the permanent representative to the United Nations said.
He noted that Russia expected to hear good news in that respect. "Almost every American fence has the sign ‘No trespassing. Private property’. Private property in the US is a sacred cow. This alone is a good reason to seek the return of what belongs to you," Nebenzya explained.
"We bring up this issue on a regular basis in the UN Committee on Relations with the Host Country. A resolution was passed at the most recent General Assembly instructing the UN secretary general to settle this issue as soon as possible, and if this does not happen, to refer the matter to arbitration," the Russian diplomat said.
Russia is not the only country that has similar problems in relations with the US. This also concerns Iran, Cuba and other states, Nebenzya specified.
On September 2, 2017, the United States’ authorities closed Russia’s consulate general in San Francisco, the trade mission in Washington and its rented office in New York. The former two facilities are Russia’s government property and enjoy diplomatic immunity. Moscow described the seizure of Russian diplomatic property as an openly hostile step and called on the United States to immediately return these facilities.
On March 26, 2018, Washington closed Russia’s consulate general in Seattle (rented premises) and the consul general’s residence (Russia’s property).