Tit-for-Tat Diplomatic Expulsions: US Responds to Moscow's Actions with the Expulsion of Russian Diplomats

The United States announced on Friday that it has decided to expel two Russian diplomats in response to Moscow's expulsion of US diplomats last month.

Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the US Department of State, stated, "In response to Russia's unwarranted expulsion, on spurious grounds, of two US Embassy officials in Moscow, the Department of State has declared two officials from the Russian Embassy in the United States persona non grata."

Russia had announced on September 14 that it expelled two US diplomats for their contact with Russian citizen Robert Shchonov, who previously worked at the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok.

 

Shchonov was detained earlier this year on suspicion of transferring sensitive information about the conflict in Ukraine to the United States.

 

 

AFP