Russia, US expel each other’s diplomats over ‘attack’ on American

WASHINGTON: Russia expelled two American diplomats on Saturday, a day after the US announced it had expelled two of Russia’s on June 17 over an “unprovoked” attack on a US employee outside its Moscow embassy.

Moscow called the expelled US diplomats CIA agents. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in a statement they were expelled for “activities incompatible with their diplomatic status”.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby had on Friday announced the expulsion of the two Russian diplomats. Kirby said that on June 6 an accredited US diplomat, who identified himself in accordance with embassy protocols, was “attacked by a Russian policeman” while entering the American embassy compound.

Bloomberg News Service said video footage that ran on Russian television this week showed a policeman emerge from his booth outside the embassy and wrestle a man, who had just got out of a taxi, to the ground.

The expulsions had been kept secret until the footage was aired

A US OFFICIAL SAID ON JUNE 6 AN ACCREDITED US DIPLOMAT WAS “ATTACKED BY A RUSSIAN POLICEMAN” WHILE ENTERING THE COMPOUND OF THE AMERICAN EMBASSY

on Russian TV, with Ryabkov accusing US diplomats in Washington of failing to “keep their word” after asking Moscow not to publicise the moves.

“The action was unprovoked and it endangered the safety of our employee,” Kirby said, adding, “The Russian claim the policeman was protecting the embassy from an unidentified individual is simply untrue.”

The Russians had said the man had punched the police officer after being stopped and asked for identification. A foreign ministry spokesperson said the man was an undercover CIA agent.

“Russian security services have intensified their harassment against US personnel in an effort to disrupt our diplomatic and consular operations,” Kirby said on Friday.