Two Russian diplomats have been expelled from Moscow’s embassy in Washington, the US State Department confirmed Friday.
The expulsion is in response to Russia’s “specious expulsion of two US Embassy Moscow diplomats” last month, a spokesperson said, adding that “the State Department reciprocated by declaring persona non grata two Russian Embassy officials operating in the United States.”
“The Department will not tolerate the Russian government’s pattern of harassment of our diplomats,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “The Department’s actions send a clear message that unacceptable actions against our Embassy personnel in Moscow will have consequences.”
The retaliatory expulsions come at a time of incredible tension between the two countries as Russia continues to fight in Ukraine following its invasion last year.
In mid-September, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller warned that the US would respond to the expulsion of two US diplomats from Russia “expeditiously.”
Last month, US Ambassador Lynne Tracy was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and informed that the two diplomats – Jeffrey Sillin and David Bernstein – had been declared as “persona non grata,” which means they had to leave the country within a week.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Tracy was given “a harsh demarche with the presentation of an official note regarding the incompatibility with the diplomatic status of the actions of the First Secretary of the US Embassy Jeffrey Sillin and the Second Secretary of the Embassy David Bernstein.”
“These persons carried out illegal activities, maintaining contact with Russian citizen (Robert) Shonov, accused of ‘confidential cooperation’ with a foreign state, who was given tasks for financial compensation aimed at harming the national…
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