Russia to respond over US expulsion
Move by Western countries is ‘provocative’, Moscow says
MOSCOW — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday that Moscow would respond harshly to a US decision to expel Russian diplomats, but was still open to talks with Washington, the RIA news agency reported.
The United States announced on Monday it would expel 60 Russian diplomats, joining governments across Europe over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain that they have blamed on Moscow. Russia has denied such claims.
It was the strongest action that US President Donald Trump had taken against Russia since taking office.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said 18 countries had announced plans to expel Russian officials. Those included 14 EU countries. In total, 100 Russian diplomats were being removed, the biggest Western expulsion of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull later on Tuesday confirmed it was expelling two Russian diplomats identified as undeclared intelligence officers.
New Zealand said it had no such agents operating on its shores but would expel them if it did.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the expulsions a “provocative gesture”. A Kremlin spokesman said President Vladimir would make a final decision about the response.
Moscow has denied being behind the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury. Skripal, 66, and Yulia Skripal, 33, were found unconscious on a public bench in a shopping center on March 4 and remain critically ill in hospital.
The staff expelled by Washington includes 12 people identified by the US as intelligence officers from Russia’s mission to the United Nations headquarters. They were involved in activities outside their official capacity and an abuse of their privileges of residence, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said.
Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called it “a very unfortunate, very unfriendly move”.
Trump also ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle because of its proximity to a US submarine base and plane maker and defense contractor Boeing.
One week to leave
The diplomats and their families have been given a week to leave the US, according to one US official. Australia issued the same deadline to expelled diplomats.
Trump, who before he took office last year promised warmer ties with Moscow, last week congratulated Putin on his re-election. Trump said the two leaders had made tentative plans to meet in the “not too distant future”.
He did not bring up the attack in his phone call.
European Council President Donald Tusk said further measures could be taken in the coming weeks and months.
Russia said it would respond in kind.
“The response will be symmetrical. We will work on it in the coming days and will respond to every country in turn,” a Russian Foreign Ministry source said.
The Kremlin has accused Britain of whipping up an anti-Russia campaign and has sought to cast doubt on the British analysis that Moscow was responsible. Russia has already ordered 23 British diplomats out of the country after Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday that relevant countries should abide by international law and the basic norms of international relations to avoid intensifying the situation.
“We believe that the United Kingdom and Russia should properly handle the incident through dialogue on the basis of facts,” Hua said.