Russia and the US still argue about returning diplomatic property

In anger, Russia accused the US of "robbing the day" by setting conditions for the return of Russian diplomatic property.

In what is believed to be the strongest expression of anger at the Trump administration’s handling of the dispute over the freezing of Russian diplomatic assets in the United States, Russian officials said that Washington’s conditions for the return of Moscow’s diplomatic assets in New York and Maryland amounted to “daytime robbery.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Photo: RT.

Frustrated and impatient, Russia asserted that it had “no choice” but to launch a retaliatory strike against the United States.

Responding to a senior White House official’s statement that the US has no intention of returning the diplomatic compound to Russia “without anything in return,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed on July 17: “What is this when they take away our private property that belongs to us according to the ratified intergovernmental document? And to get it back, they act on the principle of ‘what is mine is mine, and what is yours we will divide’.”

On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov affirmed that Russia expects the US to demonstrate "goodwill and political wisdom" in the process of resolving the dispute related to the return of the diplomatic compound.

Mr. Peskov also said that Russia still maintains the view that the return must be carried out unconditionally, any conditions the US puts forward are "unacceptable" and "violate international law".

Russia has recently expressed "disappointment" with the US regarding the two sides' failure to completely resolve diplomatic conflicts that have existed since the time of former President Barack Obama.

Previously, the reason Russia decided not to impose retaliatory measures against the US was said to be because Moscow hoped that relations with Washington would improve under President Donald Trump, and that the new US administration had "more understanding people" than officials under his predecessor Obama.

However, recent actions and words of the US have made Russia “lose all patience”. Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian Senate Konstantin Kosachev has expressed a resolute attitude when he said that Russia “has no other choice” and is ready to take retaliatory measures against the US.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also admitted: "If the situation does not change, we are ready to take measures to retaliate against the US because we have warned about this many times. We have done this through both bilateral and public channels. We know how to retaliate."

The warnings reflect Russia’s growing anger towards the US and the impasse in relations between the two sides that has yet to be resolved under the new administration of President Donald Trump. The recent disputes between the two countries have raised public concerns that tensions between the two countries will be pushed to a new level./.

According to VOV