Almost a month after the United States expelled as many as 12 Russian representatives to the United Nations, Russia, in a retaliatory move on Wednesday, expelled a number of American diplomats from the US embassy in Moscow.
“On March 23, Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs gave the embassy a list of diplomats declared ‘persona non grata’ from Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs on March 23,” a State Department spokesperson said, confirming the development.
The spokesperson also described the move as Moscow’s ‘latest unhelpful and unproductive step’ in the bilateral ties between the two countries.
“Now more than ever, it is critical that the two countries have necessary diplomatic personnel in place to facilitate communication between our governments. Therefore, we call on the Russian government to end its unjustified expulsion of American diplomats and staff,” the spokesperson further said, referring to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
There is no information on the number of diplomats who were asked to leave.
On February 28, the US mission to the UN announced Washington will expel the Russian diplomats from the American soil, claiming they were engaged in ‘espionage activities adverse to our national security.’
Reacting to the decision, Russia, at the time, described the move as a ‘hostile action’ as well as ‘gross violation of the commitments by the United States as the host nation of the UN headquarters.”
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is in Europe to discuss the invasion of Ukraine, for which the West, including the United States, has imposed various sanctions against Russia. In response, Moscow, too, has announced a ban on top American officials, including Biden, from entering Russia.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.
Source: Hindukistan Times Wwth agency inputs
