Russian consulate shutdown: Deep State victory or Trump’s attempt to avoid impeachment?
U.S. President Donald Trump talks with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson © Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
While the closure of Russian diplomatic facilities in the US will likely ramp up tensions with Moscow, the decision might be prompted by the outstanding issues within the US and its administration, says Afshin Rattansi, host of RT UK’s Going Underground.
On Thursday, the US State Department demanded closure of the Russian consulate in San Francisco, as well as two annex buildings in Washington and New York. The decision was motivated by the “spirit of parity invoked by the Russians” and came in response to Moscow ordering the US to reduce its diplomatic personnel in Russia, according to the US State Department.
While the decision will likely to ramp up tensions between the two countries, the reasons behind it might have deeper roots, Rattansi believes.
“One can say pretty firmly that the change of the chief of staff and other personnel in the Trump White House means that, as some would have it, the Deep State has won and this so-called ‘isolationist Donald Trump candidate’ is over. He’s ramping up military war games on the Korean peninsula, he’s ramping up troops to Afghanistan and he’s ramping up troops to Russia’s actual borders in the European Union countries,” Rattansi said, adding that this is all quite in line with the recent Trump policy of heating up tensions worldwide and searching for enemies.
“What we’re seeing here is definitely ramping up of tension with Moscow. We have to wait [and see] what the next enemy of Washington is, is it now going to be China?
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