US expels 60 Russian envoys, EU another 40
LONDON/ WASHINGTON DC: The USA said on Monday it would expel 60 Russian diplomats, joining governments across Europe in punishing the Kremlin for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain that they have blamed on Moscow without, however, any evidence. It was the strongest action that US President Donald Trump had taken against Russia since coming to office.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, welcoming the show of solidarity, said 18 countries had announced plans to expel Russian officials. Those included 14 European Union countries, as well as Ukraine, Canada and Albania. In total, Monday’s announcements affected more than 100 Russian diplomats — the biggest Western expulsion of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted that Monday’s “extraordinary international response by our allies stands in history as the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers ever and will help defend our shared security.” May said the coordinated measures “clearly demonstrate that we all stand shoulder to shoulder in sending the strongest signal to Russia that it cannot continue to flout international law”.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the actions a “provocative gesture”. The Kremlin spokesman said the West’s response was a “mistake” and that Russian President Vladimir Putin would make a final decision about Russia’s response. Moscow has denied being behind the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the southern English city of Salisbury on March 4.
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WASHINGTON: In a decision reminiscent of the Cold War era, the US on Monday expelled 60 Russian diplomats, describing them as "intelligence officers" and ordered closure of the country's consulate in Seattle over the use of nerve agent allegedly by Moscow against a former Russian spy in the UK.
A dozen of these expelled diplomats are based at Russia's Permanent Mission to the UN.
"On Monday President Donald J Trump ordered the expulsion of dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle due to its proximity to one of our submarine bases and Boeing," said the White House Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders.
All Russian diplomats, connected to the country's intelligence agencies, and their families have been given seven days' time to leave the country.
According to an unnamed official, Trump's move to expel 60 Russian officials is the largest ever mass expulsion of Russian officials from the United States.
The US move was followed by 14 European Union member states who expelled a number of Russian diplomats in a coordinated response.
Germany, France and Poland have said they will each expel four Russia diplomats, the Czech Republic and Lithuania three, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands two, and Latvia one.
The White House said the expulsion is in retaliation to the use of nerve agent against former spy Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom, which blames Russia for the attack.
Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, both remain critically ill in hospital in Britain.
Moscow has denied these allegations. The United Kingdom has already expelled 23 Russian diplomats.
The United States takes this action in conjunction with its NATO allies and partners around the world in response to Russia's use of a militarygrade chemical weapon on the soil of the United Kingdom, the latest in its ongoing pattern of destabilising activities around the world, Sanders said.
"On Monday's actions make the United States safer by reducing Russia's ability to spy on Americans and to conduct covert operations that threaten America's national security. With these steps, the United States and our allies and partners make clear to Russia that its actions have consequences," she said.
She said the US stands ready to cooperate to build a better relationship with Russia, but this can only happen with a change in the Russian government's behaviour.
There are 100 Russian intelligence officials based in the US. This is the first step, a senior Trump administration official told reporters during a conference call. The US reserves the right to expel more, the official added.