(Moscow) Russia has decided to expel American diplomats in retaliation for Washington’s expulsion of 12 members of the Russian diplomatic mission to the UN, Russian diplomacy said in a statement on Wednesday.
Posted at 2:24 p.m.
“On March 23, a note with the list of American diplomats declared ‘persona non grata’ was delivered to the head of the American diplomatic mission who was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry,” the statement said.
This decision was taken in response to Washington’s expulsion of diplomats from the Russian diplomatic mission to the UN in New York, according to the same source.
“The US side has been given firm notice that any hostile act by the United States against Russia will meet with a resolute and adequate response,” the statement added.
The US State Department confirmed it had received the list of affected diplomats and called on Russia “to end unjustified expulsions of US diplomats and their staff”, according to a spokesperson.
“Now more than ever, it is essential that our countries have the necessary diplomatic personnel to facilitate communication between our governments,” he added.
The United States expelled in early March, in the midst of an open crisis with Russia over Ukraine, 12 members of the Russian diplomatic mission to the UN, accused of “espionage”.
“The United States has informed the United Nations and Russia’s permanent mission to the UN that we are beginning the process of expelling 12 intelligence agents from the Russian mission who abused” their diplomatic status in the United States “by engaging in espionage activities contrary to our national security,” announced the spokesperson for the American mission to the UN, Olivia Dalton, in a press release.
The Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, then denounced an American “hostile approach”, stressing that these acts aroused “deep disappointment and absolute rejection” in Moscow.