Sixty U.S. officials are being ordered to leave Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced Thursday, in the latest round of a diplomatic feud stemming from the poisoning of a former spy in the United Kingdom.
"US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman has been summoned to our ministry, where my deputy Sergei Ryabkov is briefing him on the tit-for-tat steps against the US," Lavrov said, per TASS, a state-run media outlet.
"They include the expulsion of the same number of diplomats and our decision to withdraw consent to the work of the Consulate General in St. Petersburg."
That step is tailored to match President Trump's decision to expel sixty Russians, whom the administration identified as spies working under diplomatic cover, and close the Russian consulate in Seattle, Washington.
Trump's move was part of a wave of expulsions ordered by western powers, who collectively sent home 151 Russian officials after British Prime Minister Theresa May accused Russia of using a chemical weapon for the attempted assassination of a Russian double-agent who was granted British citizenship.
"This is the largest expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in United States history," Huntsman said Monday.
"Today's actions make the United States a safer place by limiting the ability of Russia to spy on Americans and conduct covert activities that threaten America's national security."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/russia-plans-to-expel-same-number-of-diplomats-from-us-other-nations-that-expelled-their-diplomats-report
"US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman has been summoned to our ministry, where my deputy Sergei Ryabkov is briefing him on the tit-for-tat steps against the US," Lavrov said, per TASS, a state-run media outlet.
"They include the expulsion of the same number of diplomats and our decision to withdraw consent to the work of the Consulate General in St. Petersburg."
That step is tailored to match President Trump's decision to expel sixty Russians, whom the administration identified as spies working under diplomatic cover, and close the Russian consulate in Seattle, Washington.
Trump's move was part of a wave of expulsions ordered by western powers, who collectively sent home 151 Russian officials after British Prime Minister Theresa May accused Russia of using a chemical weapon for the attempted assassination of a Russian double-agent who was granted British citizenship.
"This is the largest expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in United States history," Huntsman said Monday.
"Today's actions make the United States a safer place by limiting the ability of Russia to spy on Americans and conduct covert activities that threaten America's national security."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/russia-plans-to-expel-same-number-of-diplomats-from-us-other-nations-that-expelled-their-diplomats-report
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