U.S. authorities returned to Russia taken from buildings of the diplomatic mission flags
The US authorities have returned to Russian diplomats, the Russian flags captured by American intelligence officials with the buildings of the Consulate General in San Francisco, said “RIA Novosti” Deputy foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
In early October the Russian Embassy in the United States reported the theft of flags from the buildings of the Consulate, calling the incident a “shameful event”.
“We demand the immediate return of Russian state symbols in place and to prevent the incident in future,” — stated in the message of the Embassy. The U.S. state Department then assured that the Russian flag was “respectfully lowered and securely stored”.
According to Ryabkov, the flags returned along with the archives of the Consulate of San Francisco, which was illegally taken by the Americans from the closed to the Russian diplomats of the building of the diplomatic mission and taken to the Embassy in Washington.
“Flags is one of the highest public characters, such treatment of them by the authorities of the host country, otherwise, how defiant and provocative in every sense can not be called. The fact that we gave them is taken for granted, but everything that preceded it, we still cause rejection and very sharp rejection,” explained Deputy foreign Minister.
According to him, the actions of the American authorities “flagrantly” violate the provisions and international consular Convention of 1963 and the bilateral consular Convention.
Earlier official representative of the foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova called the removal of flags with the Russian-owned buildings in the Consulate in San Francisco and the Russian trade representation in Washington by the desecration of the national symbol.