Rubio responds to Russia's call for foreign diplomatic missions to leave Kyiv
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, commenting on Russia's call for foreign diplomats to leave Kyiv, said the State Department regularly assesses the safety of every diplomatic mission worldwide, but the US Embassy in Ukraine's capital continues to operate for now.
Source: Rubio speaking to journalists on 5 October, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Rubio noted that the Russians have been making similar calls for foreign diplomats regarding their work in Kyiv for several months.
Quote: "Look, we have an embassy presence there, and we'll make the determination about whether it's safe for them to be there or not… They [the Russians – ed.] have been warning diplomats to leave for months, and I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that Kyiv is under attack. I think that's well understood."
Details: Rubio added that the US assesses the safety of every diplomatic mission around the world every day.
"If a threat arises that we feel needs to be addressed by a change in posture, we'll do so. We haven't done that up to this point there [in Kyiv – ed.]," he said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on foreign nationals, including diplomatic mission staff, to leave Kyiv and threatened new large-scale attacks on the Ukrainian capital.
Background:
- EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová stated that all embassies of European Union member states continue operating in Kyiv despite Russian threats.
- The Polish Foreign Ministry said the same.
- The European Commission also responded to Russia's threats, saying that the EU will continue to support Ukraine and further increase pressure on Russia.
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