In payback mode, US demands Russia close 3 facilities

Russia promised on Sept. 1 a "tough response" to the United States' decision to shut its consulate in San Francisco in the latest round of a diplomatic tit-for-tat.

Intensifying tensions between the former Cold War foes, the U.S. on Thursday ordered Russia to shutter its San Francisco consulate and close offices in Washington and New York within 48 hours. The Trump administration described its action as retaliation for the Kremlin's "unwarranted and detrimental" demand earlier this month that the U.S. cut its diplomatic staff in Russia.

"The United States is prepared to take further action as necessary and as warranted," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. Still, she said the U.S. hoped both countries could now move toward "improved relations" and "increased cooperation."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow will reply with firmness but still must decide on the precise response.

"We will have a tough response to the things that come totally out of the blue to hurt us and are driven solely by the desire to spoil our relations with the United States," he said in a televised meeting with students at Russia's top diplomacy school.

American officials argued that Russia should refrain from retaliation, noting that Moscow's ordering of U.S. diplomatic cuts was premised on bringing the two countries' diplomatic presences into "parity."

"The United States hopes that, having moved toward the Russian Federation's desire for parity, we can avoid further retaliatory actions by both sides," the State Department's Nauert said.

Both countries now maintain three consulates on each other's territory and ostensibly similar numbers of diplomats. Exact numbers are difficult to...