Russia decides to expel 60 US diplomats in tit-for-tat response

Russia has decided to expel 60 US diplomats and close the US Consulate General in St. Petersburg, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Earlier, the United States expelled 60 of the Russian diplomats after it had alleged Russia of using a military-grade nerve agent to attempt to murder a British citizen and his daughter in Salisbury.

"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," he said.

"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."

US representatives should fully move out of the building of the Consulate General in St Petersburg not later than Saturday, March 31, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. 

Russia has declared 58 employees of the US Embassy in Moscow and two staff members of the Consulate General in Yekaterinburg personae non gratae, they will have to leave the country by April 5.

"On March 29, US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov handed over to him a note of protest over the outrageous and unsubstantiated demands by the US authorities that 60 Russian diplomats leave the US and the Russian Consulate General in Seattle be closed and also in connection with the US authorities’ intention to seize its premises. That was preceded by the seizure of five other facilities in the US owned by Russia in 2016-2017," the ministry said.

"Based on the reciprocity principle, as a retaliatory measure, 58 employees of the US Embassy in Moscow and two staff members of the Consulate General in Yekaterinburg have been declared personae non gratae for the activities incompatible with their diplomatic status," the ministry said. "They will have to leave the Russian Federation by April 5, 2018."

"The American side has been warned the materialization of this threat will bring about a further serious degradation of our relations and will be fraught with harsh aftermaths for global stability," the ministry noted.

Apart from that, the ambassador was told that "in the event of continued hostile moves against the Russian diplomatic and consular missions in the US, additional measures will be taken against the personnel and facilities of the US Embassy and Consulates General in Russia."

The US authorities encouraging and fomenting a smear campaign against our country were offered to reconsider their approach and stop reckless actions to ruin bilateral relations," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

US response

The US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert in reaction to Russian measure of expelling the US diplomats said, “The Russian Federation dubbed 60 of our staff persona non grata, and they now must depart within seven days. They also ordered the closure of our consulate in St. Petersburg within 48 hours. It’s clear from the list provided to us that the Russian Federation is not interested in a dialogue on issues that matter to our two countries.”

“I want to remind you that there is no justification for the Russian response.  Let me explain why I say there is no justification for that response. The United States, in concert with many other countries, made the decision to kick out Russian spies. We don’t see this as a diplomatic tit-for-tat. Russia is responsible for that horrific attack on the British citizen and his daughter. Once again, they have broken the Chemical Weapons Convention. It was a banned substance that they have used – Novichok. We take this matter very seriously.”

Mr Nauert mentioned the role of Russia in Syria saying that Russia is directly responsible for propping up Bashar al-Assad, who has been killing his own people for far, far too long – Iran also responsible.

UN warns another era of Cold War

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of another cold war as tensions rise between the United States and Russia.

Talking to reporters in Moscow, he expressed concerns over the escalation of situation after the poisoning of a former Russian spy in England.

On other hand, Russia has ordered sixty US diplomats to leave by next week in a retaliatory move against Washington which expelled a similar number of Russian diplomats.

Meanwhile, talking to newsmen U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Russia’s decision to expel 60 U.S. diplomats shows that Moscow is not interested in diplomacy, and Washington reserves the right to take further action.