Why Did The State Department Break Into Seattle Home of Russia's Consulate General?

Updated | The Russian ambassador to the United States lashed out at the State Department after officials broke into the locked former residence of Russia's Consulate General in Seattle, which was closed down after its staff of 60 expelled from America.

The break-in was carried out to allow officials to inspect the property and confirm that it had been vacated. The State Department said the Russians declined an offer to accompany them on the inspection.

"This fine day was darkened by US steps, very unconstructive ones and very unfriendly, and I would even say anti-Russian," Ambassador Anatoly Antonov told journalists, reported TASS.

"Today the US authorities took down the locks from the building where the Russian Consul General in Seattle lived. They violated all international conventions and all agreements. This gesture arouses nothing but grief and sorrow."

President Donald Trump ordered the closure of the consulate in response to the Skripal poisonings in the UK, which the West says were carried out with Kremlin's direct involvement. Trump expelled dozens of Russian diplomats and suspected spies.

The Russian embassy posted several videos to Twitter of what it said were "U.S. special services" breaking locks at the Russian Consulate in the Madison Park area of the city so they could enter.

"On Wednesday, State Department officials walked through the property in Seattle to confirm it had been vacated. We invited the Russians to join us for that walk through, and they declined," a State Department official told Newsweek in a statement.

"We will secure and maintain it in keeping with our responsibilities. There was no 'invasion,' just a firm, lawful response to Russia's continuing, outrageous behavior.

"We needed to confirm that the Russians had complied with our requirement that they vacate the facility. Unfortunately the Russians made the decision to leave the gate and front door locked.

"That's in contrast to our own behavior. When Russia has limited access to our properties in Russia, whether it was our recreational facility and warehouse in Moscow or our consulate general in St. Petersburg, we didn't leave the doors locked to make life more difficult for the Russian authorities."

KIRO-TV Seattle reported Graham Johnson tweeted an image of bags of shredded paper from outside the former consulate building. He also noted that the Russian flag was still flying on top of it.

In retaliation to Trump's closure of the Seattle consulate, Russia ordered the closure of America's consulate in St Petersburg.

This article was updated to include a statement from the State Department.