The Russian embassy in Washington, D.C., polled Twitter users on Monday asking which American consulate it should close in response to President Trump’s decision to expel Russian intelligence officials and close the Russian Consulate in Seattle.
The poll comes in response to Trump ordering the closure of the consulate and the expulsion of 60 Russian intelligence officials Monday after discovering the Kremlin’s ties to the use of chemical weapons against an ex-spy earlier this month in the United Kingdom.
“US administration ordered the closure of the Russian Consulate in Seattle @GK_Seattly,” the embassy wrote in a tweet on their official Twitter page.
“What US Consulate General would you close in @Russia, if it was up to you to decide.”
US administration?? ordered the closure of the Russian Consulate in Seattle @GK_Seattle??. What US Consulate General would you close in @Russia, if it was up to you to decide
— Russia in USA ?? (@RusEmbUSA) March 26, 2018
The embassy provided three choices within the poll, including the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, and St. Petersburg.
Antaoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the U.S. also spoke out against Trump’s decision Monday, saying the U.S. “took a very bad step by cutting what very little still remains in terms of Russian-American relations.”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement Monday that the closure of the Seattle Consulate is because of its proximity to the U.S. submarine base and Boeing.
“Today’s actions make the United States safer by reducing Russia’s ability to spy on Americans and to conduct covert operations that threaten American’s national security,” Sanders said.
