Russia will close the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg and kick out
60 American diplomats in response to Monday’s coordinated expulsion of
Russian diplomats from the United States and a number of other
countries, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.
The move continues an ongoing escalation of tit for tat between Moscow and the West that began in early March with the alleged poisoning of a former Russian double agent on British soil with a Soviet-designed nerve agent. American officials said Thursday that another round might be coming.
“We reserve the right to respond,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in Washington. “Russia should not be acting like a victim,” she said, calling Moscow’s move “regrettable” and “unwarranted.”
U.S. Ambassador Jon M. Huntsman Jr. was summoned Thursday night to the Foreign Ministry, where Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov informed him of Russia’s response.
Read more: Russia to expel 60 U.S. diplomats, close St. Petersburg consulate - The Washington Post
The move continues an ongoing escalation of tit for tat between Moscow and the West that began in early March with the alleged poisoning of a former Russian double agent on British soil with a Soviet-designed nerve agent. American officials said Thursday that another round might be coming.
“We reserve the right to respond,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in Washington. “Russia should not be acting like a victim,” she said, calling Moscow’s move “regrettable” and “unwarranted.”
U.S. Ambassador Jon M. Huntsman Jr. was summoned Thursday night to the Foreign Ministry, where Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov informed him of Russia’s response.
Read more: Russia to expel 60 U.S. diplomats, close St. Petersburg consulate - The Washington Post
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