Russia to expel 60 US diplomats, close consulate
MOSCOW – Russia said Thursday that it will expel 60 U.S. diplomats and close the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg in a “tit-for-tat” in response to Western actions after the poisoning of an ex-spy and his daughter.
Meanwhile, a hospital in Britain treating the pair said the woman is improving rapidly and is out of critical condition.
Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious and critically ill in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.
British authorities blamed Russia for poisoning them with a military-grade nerve agent, which the Kremlin has vehemently denied.
Two dozen countries, including the U.S., many EU
nations and NATO, have ordered more than 150 Russian diplomats out this week in a show of solidarity with Britain – a massive action unseen even at the height of the Cold War.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference Thursday that Moscow will expel the same number of diplomats from each of those countries in retaliation.
Lavrov added that just as he was making the statement, U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman was invited to the Foreign Ministry, where he was handed notice that Russia is responding quid pro quo to the U.S. decision to order 60 Russian diplomats out.
Lavrov said Moscow will also retaliate against the U.S. decision to shut the Russian consulate in Seattle by closing the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg.
The Foreign Ministry said the U.S. diplomats, including 58 diplomats from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and two from the U.S. consulate in Yekaterinburg, must leave Russia by April 5. It added that the U.S. must leave the consulate in St. Petersburg no later than Saturday.
The ministry warned that in case the U.S. takes further “hostile actions” against Russian missions, Russia will respond in kind.
“We invite the U.S. authorities who are encouraging a slanderous campaign against our country to come back to their senses and stop thoughtless actions to destroy bilateral relations,” it said.
Lavrov emphasized that the expulsions followed a “brutal pressure” from the U.S. and Britain that forced their allies to “follow the anti-Russian course.”
Meanwhile, Salisbury NHS Trust, which oversees the hospital where the Skripals are being treated, said Thursday that 33-year-old Yulia is “improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition. Her condition is now stable.”
“She has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical care 24 hours a day,” said Dr. Christine Blanshard, medical director at Salisbury District Hospital.
Sergei Skripal, 66, remains in critical condition, the hospital said.
Lavrov said that Russia would seek consular access to Yulia Skripal now that she has regained consciousness.
Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, was imprisoned after he sold secrets to British intelligence.
He was released in a 2010 spy swap and moved to Britain.
Britain says he and his daughter, who was visiting from Russia, were poisoned with a nerve agent developed in Soviet times and that it must have come from Russia.
Police say they were likely exposed to the poison on the door of Sergei Skripal’s suburban house in Salisbury, where the highest concentration of the chemical has been found.