Moscow: Russia on Wednesday said it was expelling US diplomats inretaliation for Washington’s step to remove 12 of Moscow’s representativesto the UN based in New York.
“On March 23, a note with the list of the American diplomats declared‘persona non grata’ was handed to the head of the American diplomaticmission who was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the ministrysaid in a statement.
The decision was taken in response to the expulsion by Washington ofRussian diplomats at the UN in New York, the source said.
“The US side has been given firm notice that any hostile action by theUnited States against Russia will be met with a resolute and appropriateresponse,” the statement added.
A US State Department spokesperson confirmed it had received the list fromMoscow.
“This is Russia’s latest unhelpful and unproductive step in our bilateralrelationship. We call on the Russia government to end its unjustifiedexpulsions of US diplomats and staff,” this official said.
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“Now more than ever, it is critical that our countries have the necessarydiplomatic personnel in place to facilitate communication between ourgovernments.”
The United States expelled 12 members of the Russian diplomatic mission tothe UN in early March amid an open crisis with Russia over Ukraine oncharges of espionage.
“The US has informed the Russian Mission that we are beginning the processof expelling 12 intelligence operatives from the Russian Mission who haveabused their privileges of residency in the US by engaging in espionageactivities that are adverse to our national security,” the spokeswoman forthe US mission to the UN, Olivia Dalton, announced in a statement.
The Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoli Antonov, denounced itas a “hostile move” by the United States, stressing that the actions were acause of “deep disappointment and absolute rejection” in Moscow. -APP/AFP
