The United Nations cannot confirm that it received a letter from Moscow about the United States' violations of international law with regard to Russian diplomatic property in the country, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2018) The United Nations cannot confirm that it received a letter from Moscow about the United States' violations of international law with regard to Russian diplomatic property in the country, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday.
I can't confirm that we received it as of yet, Dujarric said during a press briefing when asked about the letter.
Earlier on Friday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said it has strongly protested repeated US violations of international law with respect to Russian diplomatic missions. The ministry said it sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on May 18 urging him to pay attention to the matter and also delivered a note of protest to the US Department of State.
A row between the United States and Russia over diplomatic property erupted in December 2016, when outgoing US President Barack Obama closed Russian diplomatic compounds in New York and Maryland and expelled 35 Russian diplomats.
In 2017, the new administration under President Donald Trump shut down the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco, and trade missions in New York City and Washington, DC in response to Moscow's decision to reduce the number of US diplomatic staff in Russia.
In March, the United States closed the Russian Consulate in Seattle over allegations of Moscow's involvement in the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom, though the Kremlin firmly denied any involvement. Officials from the US Department of State entered the official residence of the former Russian consul after breaking all the locks.
Moscow has said that the actions of the United States constituted a violation of international law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Relations.
