Russia will expel 60 US diplomats and close the US Consulate in St. Petersburg, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday, in retaliation for a similar move by Washington.
The 60 diplomats -- 58 from the US mission in Moscow and two from Yekaterinburg -- were declared "persona non grata" for activities "incompatible with diplomatic status," the ministry said, ordering them to leave the country by April 5.
US Ambassador Jon Huntsman had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry to be told of the decision, Lavrov said.
Russia has been on the defensive since the UK government openly blamed Moscow for the poisoning of a former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, on British soil on March 4.
More than 20 nations, including long-term allies like the United States, have backed Britain by together expelling more than 100 Russian diplomats. The US expelled 60 on Monday as part of the coordinated global response.
Russia had already been engaged in a tit-for-tat with Britain, with both countries expelling 23 diplomats each, and Russia closing some British institutions in the country.
Russia has firmly denied responsibility for the poisoning and President Vladimir Putin has dismissed accusations his country was involved as "delirium."
Lavrov echoed those sentiments Thursday and slammed the global expulsions of Russian diplomats as "absolutely unacceptable," warning that Russia would retaliate. He said those countries had been put under "the greatest pressure of the United States and the Great Britain."
Among those that expelled Russian diplomats were major European Union economies, including Germany and France, as well as most NATO states.
Continue Reading: Russia expels US diplomats and shuts consulate in tit-for-tat move
The 60 diplomats -- 58 from the US mission in Moscow and two from Yekaterinburg -- were declared "persona non grata" for activities "incompatible with diplomatic status," the ministry said, ordering them to leave the country by April 5.
US Ambassador Jon Huntsman had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry to be told of the decision, Lavrov said.
Russia has been on the defensive since the UK government openly blamed Moscow for the poisoning of a former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, on British soil on March 4.
More than 20 nations, including long-term allies like the United States, have backed Britain by together expelling more than 100 Russian diplomats. The US expelled 60 on Monday as part of the coordinated global response.
Russia had already been engaged in a tit-for-tat with Britain, with both countries expelling 23 diplomats each, and Russia closing some British institutions in the country.
Russia has firmly denied responsibility for the poisoning and President Vladimir Putin has dismissed accusations his country was involved as "delirium."
Lavrov echoed those sentiments Thursday and slammed the global expulsions of Russian diplomats as "absolutely unacceptable," warning that Russia would retaliate. He said those countries had been put under "the greatest pressure of the United States and the Great Britain."
Among those that expelled Russian diplomats were major European Union economies, including Germany and France, as well as most NATO states.
Continue Reading: Russia expels US diplomats and shuts consulate in tit-for-tat move
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