US expels 60 Russians, shuts Seattle mission
More than a dozen European nations also kick out diplomats
The United States and more than a dozen European nations kicked out Russian diplomats yesterday and the Trump administration ordered Russia’s consulate in Seattle to close, as the West sought joint punishment for Moscow’s alleged role in poisoning an ex-spy in Britain.
Warning of an “unacceptably high” number of Russian spies in the US, the Trump administration said 60 diplomats would be expelled.
The American penalties were echoed by announcements in European capitals across the continent. Britain said that expulsions are a warning to Russia not to flout international law.
“The United States and many of our friends are sending a clear message that we will not stand for Russia’s misconduct,” said US Ambassador Nikki Haley, Trump’s envoy to the UN.
Russia’s Embassy in Washington responded to the decisions on Twitter by hinting at retaliation, asking its followers to vote which US consulate should be shuttered: St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg or Vladivostok.
The US said yesterday it would expel 60 Russian diplomats, joining governments across Europe in taking action against the Kremlin for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain that they have blamed on Moscow.
It was the toughest action that US President Donald Trump had taken against Russia since coming to office.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted that “Today’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.” British Prime Minister Theresa 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” and promised to respond.
Moscow has denied being behind the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the southern English city of Salisbury on March 4.
Consulate closure in US
The staff expelled by the US included 12 intelligence officers from Russia’s mission to United Nations headquarters in New York. Trump also ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle.
“To the Russian government we say: when you attack our friends, you will face serious consequences,” a senior US administration official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
EU leaders last week said evidence of Russian involvement in the attack presented by British Prime Minister Theresa May was a solid basis for further action.
Germany and France made good on those threats by announcing expulsions and in a coordinated move, other states across the European Union followed suit, along with Canada and Ukraine.
Skripal’s poisoning, alleged to have employed the Sovietera military-grade nerve agent Novichok, is the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two.
“In solidarity with our British partners, we have today notified the Russian authorities of our decision to expel four Russian personnel with diplomatic status from French territory within one week,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian.
European Council President Donald Tusk said 14 EU countries in all were expelling Russian diplomats and warned that further measures could be taken in the coming weeks and months.
Russian response
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,” the RIA news agency cited an unnamed Foreign Ministry source as saying.
The Kremlin has accused Britain of whipping up an antiRussia campaign and sought to cast doubt on the British analysis that Moscow was responsible. The two countries have already expelled 23 diplomats each in tit-for-tat moves.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that the EU’s expression of support for Britain was misguided given that it would be leaving the bloc next year.
“Britain is leaving the European family. No one cancelled Brexit, and the divorce process is in full swing,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook.
“Therefore a country which is leaving the European Union is exploiting the solidarity factor and is foisting on those countries that remain a worsening of relations with Russia.”
Skripal, 66, and his 33-yearold daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a public bench in a shopping centre, and remain in hospital in critical condition.