Rubio denied reports about the curtailment of US diplomatic missions in Africa

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called "fake" reports from The New York Times newspaper about the plans of the Donald Trump administration to eliminate the African bureau at the State Department.

"This is fake news. The New York Times has become the victim of yet another deception," Rubio said.

The article, which was refuted by the Secretary of State, claimed that President Trump's draft decree provides for the closure of the Bureau of African Affairs and "non-essential" embassies and consulates in the countries of the continent.

The African bureau, according to the newspaper, was planned to be replaced by a "compact" office of the special envoy, subordinate to the White House National Security Council.

Earlier, the media reported that the Trump administration was going to close about 30 diplomatic missions abroad, six of them embassies in the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gambia, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo and South Sudan.