US expels 12 Russian diplomats from country for spying

The United States declared on Monday (28) as ‘persona non grata’ 12 diplomats from the Russian mission to the United Nations, who will have until March 7 to leave the country on the charge of “espionage”. The information was announced by Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, who considered this “sad news” and a sign that the US is not respecting its agreements with the United Nations regarding its role as the organization’s host state, which is based in New York.

Shortly thereafter, the US confirmed the decision and argued that it was in no way violating its responsibilities as a host country. According to a US statement, the 12 individuals are “intelligence agents” who “abused their US residency privileges by engaging in espionage activities that are detrimental” to US national security. “This action has been in the works for months,” US spokeswoman Olivia Dalton said, implying that the change is unrelated to the current situation in Ukraine.

The news came in the middle of a press conference by the Russian ambassador to the UN, who received a call in which, according to him, he was informed that he had received a US notification about the expulsion of the diplomats. Nebenzya said he did not have the details of who was affected by the measure or an explanation of the reason for it at this stage, and commented that Russia would have to respond with a similar action, as is usual in diplomatic crises.