Two Russian diplomats expelled from USA
The United States expels two employees of the Russian embassy. This happened after the Russian Federation approved a similar decision last month.
Source: Spokesperson of the US State Department in a comment to European Pravda
Details: "In response to the Russian Federation’s specious expulsion of two US Embassy Moscow diplomats, the State Department reciprocated by declaring persona non grata two Russian Embassy officials operating in the United States," the spokesperson said.
He emphasised that the US State Department "will not tolerate the Russian government’s pattern of harassment of our diplomats."
"The Department’s actions send a clear message that unacceptable actions against our Embassy personnel in Moscow will have consequences," added the spokesperson of the foreign policy department.
Reminder:
- In September, the Russian Foreign Ministry declared Jeffrey Sillin, the first secretary of the US Embassy in Moscow, and David Bernstein, the second secretary of the embassy, as persona non grata.
- The names of the two American diplomats appear in the investigation of the Russian Federal Security Service regarding Russian citizen Robert Shonov, a former employee of the US Consulate General in Vladivostok, who was detained in August this year.
- The FSB claims that since September 2022, Shonov, "for a material reward" and on behalf of Sillin and Bernstein, collected information about the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, mobilisation in Russia, "problematic moments and an assessment of their impact on the protest activity of the population."
- In February of this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia handed over a note to the US Embassy in Moscow with the demand to "stop interfering in internal affairs", in which it threatened to expel American diplomats suspected of "subversive activities".
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