US seizes control of Russian posts in San Fran, DC, NY

The United States has seized control of three Russian diplomatic posts in the U.S. after confirming the Russians had complied with the Trump administration's order to get out within two days, officials said.

As the Kremlin cried foul, accusing Washington of bullying tactics, the U.S. disputed Moscow's claims that American officials had threatened to "break down the entrance door" to one of the facilities, and that the FBI was "clearing the premises." Not true, said a senior State Department official, adding that U.S. officials had joined Russian Embassy personnel for walkthroughs of the three buildings.

"These inspections were carried out to secure and protect the facilities and to confirm the Russian government had vacated the premises," the official said in a statement emailed on Sept. 2 to reporters by the State Department on condition the official not be named.

Russia has been incensed by the move to shutter Russia's consulate in San Francisco and trade offices in Washington and New York, actions the U.S. took in retaliation for Moscow's decision last month to force the U.S. to cut its diplomatic personnel in Russia to 455. Moscow has accused the U.S. of violating international law by shuttering the facilities, a charge the U.S. disputes.

On Sept. 2, Russia's Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the U.S. deputy chief of mission in Moscow, Anthony Godfrey, to deliver a formal protest note calling the purported trade office search an "unprecedented aggressive action."

The Foreign Ministry also posted video on Facebook that it said showed FBI agents inspecting the consulate general building in San Francisco. In the video, a man in a tie knocks on several numbered doors and enters what appears to be apartment units,...