U.S. expels Russians, closes consulate
White House says actions sap foreign spies
WASHINGTON – In a global slap at Russia over this month’s poison attack in Great Britain, the United States and more than 20 other countries moved Monday to expel more than 100 diplomats and other officials.
The United States announced it was booting out 60 Russians and closing the government’s consulate in Seattle. “This action is a response to Russia’s use of a military-grade chemical weapon in the United Kingdom,” White House spokesman Raj Shah said.
The expulsions “make the United States safer by reducing Russia’s ability to spy on Americans and to conduct covert operations and threaten America’s national security,” Shah said.
The expelled Russians and their families have a week to leave the USA.
The global penalties are in response to the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter on British soil. The United Kingdom accused the Kremlin of orchestrating the attack, which Russian President Vladimir Putin denied. Skripal and his daughter Yulia remained in critical condition in a hospital, and British Prime Minister Theresa May told Parliament on Monday that “they may never recover fully.”
Canada, Ukraine and members of the European Union were among the nations that planned to expel “more than 100 Russian intelligence officers,” May said. “This is the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history,” she said.
Trump administration officials pointed out that the United States signed a joint statement with the U.K., France and Germany blaming Russia for the Skripal attack. The United States cited the poisoning when it applied sanctions on Russia over cyber activities during the presidential election.
The British government condemned the “appalling attack on British soil on innocent civilians using a militarygrade nerve agent” and praised the U.S. expulsions as “an exceptionally strong signal of transatlantic unity.”
Lawmakers, including those who suspect the Trump campaign of colluding with Russia during the presidential campaign, expressed support for the ex- pulsions. California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the action sends “an important signal of our solidarity” with Great Britain “and may help deter further Russian aggression.”
Monday, the State Department said in a statement that the 60 Russians “abused their privilege of residence in the United States.”
“We take these actions to demonstrate our unbreakable solidarity with the United Kingdom and to impose serious consequences on Russia for its continued violations of international norms,” the statement said.
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, criticized Russia’s “destabilizing behavior across the world, such as its participation in the atrocities in Syria and its illegal actions in Ukraine.”
She said, “Russia uses the United Nations as a safe haven for dangerous activities within our own borders,” and the United States is sending a message that “we will not stand for Russia’s misconduct.”
Russia could react by expelling Americans. The government said it would respond to actions by other governments on the basis of “reciprocity.”
“We stand ready to cooperate, to build a better relationship with Russia,” Shah said, “but this can only happen with a change in the Russian government’s behavior.”
Trump has said he would like to meet with Putin in the near future.
“We take these actions to demonstrate our unbreakable solidarity with the United Kingdom.” U.S. State Department