World News | US Expels Two Russian Diplomats to Retaliate for the Expulsion of Two American Diplomats from Moscow
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. The Biden administration on Friday ordered two Russian diplomats expelled from the United States in retaliation for the expulsion of two US diplomats from Moscow last month.
Washington, Oct 7 (AP) The Biden administration on Friday ordered two Russian diplomats expelled from the United States in retaliation for the expulsion of two US diplomats from Moscow last month.
The State Department said it had taken the action in response to Russia declaring the two American diplomats persona non grata because of contacts with a Russian national who had once worked for the now-closed US consulate in Russia's far-eastern city of Vladivostok and was arrested this year.
Also Read | What Does Mohammadi’s Nobel Prize Mean for Iranian Women?.
“The department will not tolerate the Russian government's pattern of harassment of our diplomats,” spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. “Unacceptable actions against our embassy personnel in Moscow will have consequences.”
The expulsions come at a time of animosity between Washington and Moscow over the war in Ukraine and as diplomatic relations have plummeted to their worst level since the Cold War.
Also Read | Indian-Origin Couple, Two Children Found Dead Inside Home in New Jersey; Police Launches Homicide Probe.
On September 14, Russia's Foreign Ministry accused the first secretary at the US Embassy in Russia, Jeffrey Sillin, and the second secretary, David Bernstein, of “illegal activity” and ordered them to leave the country within seven days.
The ministry said they had “kept in touch” with the former consulate employee, Robert Shonov, who was accused of collecting information for US diplomats about Russia's military action in Ukraine and related issues.
Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, reported the arrest of Shonov in August. The FSB said he had gathered "information about the special military operation, mobilisation processes in Russian regions, problems and the assessment of their influence on protest activities of the population in the runup to the 2024 presidential election.” (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)