Russia to Expel 60 U.S. Diplomats By Jack Crowe
Russia will expel 60 U.S. diplomats and close the American consulate in St. Petersburg in response to the Trump administration’s expulsion of the same number of Russian diplomats earlier this week, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov announced Thursday.
An additional 90 diplomats representing western countries that joined the U.S. in expelling Russian diplomats will also be sent home. Lavrov said the number of diplomats expelled from each country will be equal to the number of Russians each of those countries expelled.
The expulsion of Russian diplomats, which was accompanied by the closure of the Russian embassy in Seattle, was prompted by a Kremlin-linked nerve-gas attack against a former Russian spy living in London.
Numerous other acts of Russian aggression have escalated tensions between western allies and Russia to levels unseen since the Cold War. The Trump administration announced a new round of sanctions against Russian entities and individuals this month in response to cyber attacks against American utility companies and interference in the 2016 presidential election. U.S. officials are also reportedly in the process of drafting a proposal that would increase NATO military readiness in response to Russia’s provocations.
Comments are closed.
