The diplomatic crisis between the two countries broke out in December 2016, when then-President Barack Obama, shortly after the end of his term, expelled 35 Russian diplomats
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that, if an agreement is not reached with Washington, all diplomats and employees of the US Embassy in Russia and consulates who have been stationed in Russia for more than three years will be expelled. It is the response to the deportation by the United States of 55 Russian diplomats.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov explained yesterday that “the US still has time to stop the expulsion of its diplomats.” In his words, “the United States authorities have established two dates on which the workers of the Russian diplomatic missions must leave the United States, at the end of January and at the end of June (…) and we will respond symmetrically by expelling from our country the corresponding number of US personnel in accordance with the same principle. ‘ “But we are against this and we propose that the measure be rectified,” he added.
In October, Washington demanded 55 Russian diplomats to leave the country and later clarified that these are not expulsions, since those affected by the measure can be replaced by other members of the Diplomatic Corps. The US State Department of State maintained that these procedures are not punitive and were introduced “to guarantee parity between the diplomatic missions of the United States and Russia,” explained Jalina Porter, deputy director of the department’s press service. Moscow, however, considers such a way of proceeding full-blown deportations.
In April of this year, the United States expelled 10 Russian diplomats on the grounds that they included secret service agents. Russia denied it and expelled from its territory ten members of the staff of the North American Legation, which was also prohibited from hiring Russian employees. One of the consequences was that the issuance of visas was paralyzed due to a lack of consular personnel.
The diplomatic crisis between the two countries broke out in December 2016, when then-President Barack Obama, shortly after the end of his term, expelled 35 Russian diplomats and seized two mansions from his Embassy, one in Centerville (Maryland) and the another in Glen Cove, on Long Island (New York). These luxurious buildings, the White House argued at the time, were used as nests for spies.
Since then, Russia and the United States have not stopped exchanging expulsions. With Donald Trump at the helm of the country, President Vladimir Putin deported 755 diplomats and administrative employees, an unprecedented number in the history of relations between Moscow and Washington.
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