Moscow will not react with 'hysterical impulses’ to closure of SF consulate : Ambassador to US

Russia’s new Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, says Moscow will not react hysterically to the closure of its consulate in San Francisco. Instead, the diplomat stressed, both countries should build a dialogue for the sake of international stability.

Antonov's arrival on US soil Wednesday was immediately marred by the news of the September 2 closure of Russia's Consulate-General in San Francisco, a trade mission in Washington, DC and a consular annex in New York City.

Moscow will surely act “professionally and calmly,” Antonov, who previously served as deputy defense and foreign minister said according to RIA.

“Speaking in Leninist terms, we do not need hysterical impulses,” said the diplomat, who arrived in the US just about an hour after the State Department announced the punitive measures.

Just days before starting his tenure in Washington, replacing Sergey Kislyak as head of the Russian mission in the US, Antonov spoke to the Russian newspaper Kommersant. He shared some of his future plans and his vision in the areas of vital US-Russian cooperation.

“I will strive to convey the message to the Americans that we are not enemies, but we should be partners for the benefit of the interests of Russia and the United States,” the new ambassador said in the interview published Wednesday.

He added that he will try to “stabilize and then to improve” bilateral relations on a “equal, pragmatic, mutually respectful and mutually beneficial” basis.

Russia and the US, both nuclear powers, “bear special responsibility” for the stability of the world and international security, the diplomat believes.
  [rt.com]
 1/9/17
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