Of course, they will be returned

The Russian and American sides are close to solving the problem of the so -called embassy cottages in the United States, although they have not come to the final agreements, CNN reports . The deputy head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Ryabkov, according to the results of three hours of negotiations with the deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Thomas Shannon, in response to the question of resolving the problem, said to reporters: "Almost, almost."

Shannon refused to comment on the results of the meeting.

On Monday, First Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, speaking at the hearing in the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, emphasized that the administration will consult with the congress "before implementing an agreement with Russia in practice." Representatives of the White House at a briefing on Monday did not comment on the situation, offering to contact the State Department for comments.

Meanwhile, in the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry, following the negotiations of Lavrov and Shannon, it is noted that Moscow is ready to take retaliatory measures if the problem is not resolved. "The Russian side emphasized that if Washington does not eliminate this and other stimuli, including the ongoing creation of obstacles to the activities of our diplomatic institutions, the right to response remains on the basis of the principle of reciprocity," the Foreign Ministry emphasized .

At the end of December 2016, the US authorities sent 35 Russian diplomats from the country . At the same time, employees of the Russian diplomatic mission were given 24 hours to leave two embassy cottages in New York and Maryland. According to the previous president of Barack Obama, these cottages were used by Russian intelligence. Obama’s decision was a response to Moscow’s intervention in the American presidential campaign and the persecution of American diplomats in Russia.

During the meeting of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Hamburg on July 7, the issue of returning the embassy cottages in New York and Maryland rose, but was not decided , Izvestia reported. As the sources of the publication in the Foreign Ministry noted, Moscow hopes for the results of negotiations between Ryabkov and Shannon.

On July 14, the deputy assistant to the US President Sebastian Gorka said in an interview with CNN that the return of Russia's embassy cottages is possible subject to its "conscientious behavior" , in particular in Syria. In the White House they want to "give a chance to interaction and cooperation with Moscow, the official noted.

On the same day, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that if the United States does not cancel sanctions against Russia for interference in the elections, then Moscow can not only symmetrically send American diplomats, but also reduce the number of US Embassy in Moscow, as well as confiscate the real estate of the embassy - cottage and warehouse.

On Monday, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov , called the Brand of British the behavior of Washington, setting the conditions for the return of summer cottages. “If this is so, then this is a robbery in broad daylight. The bandits from a large road turn out to comment on this situation. How is it - to select the property that is fixed by the bilateral intergovernmental ratified document, and to return it, to act on the principle of“ that mine is mine, and what is yours, ”said Lavrov.