Stop! Filmed!

The State Duma canceled the visit of groups of deputies to the United States, which were supposed to participate in the annual international forum in New York on October 26-30, Interfax reports . The reason was the removal of Russian flags from the buildings of closed diplomatic agents in San Francisco and Washington.

“I hope that the United States will be reviewed, and the flag will return to its place, to its rightful place. There was no revision of the status of this property, as far as I know,” said the vice speaker of the State Duma Peter Tolstoy.

The State Duma said that the decision to cancel the visit would remain in force "until the corresponding explanations and apologies follow from the American side."

Russia told the United States a decisive protest and demanded to return the flags to the place. “The American side was directed by a decisive protest due to the fact that Russian flags were torn from the objects of our diplomatic real estate in San Francisco, which are under the control of the US authorities. We are considering this as an extremely unfriendly step,” the Russian embassy said . “We demand that Russian state symbols be returned to the place and not allow the incident,” the Russian state said in Russian diplomatic mission.

The US State Department said that "flags from the former consular facilities of the Russian Federation in San Francisco were carefully removed and stored in these buildings."

On August 31, the American authorities demanded from Russia until September 2 to close the Consulate General in San Francisco , as well as a trade mission in Washington and its branch in New York. It was noted that this is a response to the requirements of Russia on reducing staff of American diplomatic agents. “We believe that this action was unreasonable and is damaged by the common relations between our countries,” said the press secretary of the State Department of Hiser Neurt.

On September 1, the Consulate General in San Francisco stopped receiving visitors . A thick black smoke was noticed, rising from the pipe of the building. Firefighters who arrived at the Consulate General building did not let them go inside and assured that everything was in order. In the courtyard of the Russian trade representative office in Washington, fire was also noticed. One could see how employees throw some papers into a bonfire diluted in the backyard.

On September 2, the access of Russian diplomats to the buildings was discontinued. The liberated premises were examined by the FBI agents . In the US State Department, the event was called bypass, clarifying that it was held together with representatives of the Russian embassy. Meanwhile, in the Russian Foreign Ministry, what was happening was called a "search", and the United States was accused of "violation of international law and its own legislation."

On September 5, Vladimir Putin, at a press conference at the Summit, called the US actions unprecedented and stated that the Americans were behaving in a prison , demonstrating the "low level of political culture." The Russian president instructed the Ministry of Defense through the court to challenge Washington’s decision on the ban on Russian diplomats to use three buildings. In addition, Putin threatened to additionally reduce the staff of the American diplomatic mission by another 155 people.

On September 14, the authorities of St. Petersburg liquidated parking at the United States Consulate General, and a pedestrian crossing appeared in its place. The measures taken are not related to the "diplomatic war" between Russia and the USA, the representative of the city authorities emphasized. “Residents of nearby houses have long turned to us with a request to organize a pedestrian crossing at this place,” he said. On the same day, it became known that in Yekaterinburg, a road sign was removed from the US General Consulate building, allowing parking for the diplomatic mission to parking. The city administration claimed that this was done on the initiative of the traffic police.