US Ambassador to Russia John Hansman has been invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he will be briefed on Russia's retaliatory measures against American missions and representative offices: Moscow is expelling a similar number of diplomats and closing the American consulate in St. Petersburg, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Interfax-Tourism reports.
"Literally at this very moment, US Ambassador Huntsman has been invited to our ministry, where my deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, is outlining to him the content of these retaliatory measures against the United States," he told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.
"They include the expulsion of a similar number of diplomats, and they include our decision to revoke our consent to the operation of the US Consulate General in St. Petersburg," the minister noted.
Later, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarifiedIn retaliatory measures, 58 employees of the US Embassy in Moscow and two employees of the US Consulate General in Yekaterinburg have been declared "persona non grata" for "activities incompatible with their diplomatic status." They must leave Russia by April 5, 2018.
"Permission to open and operate the US Consulate General in St. Petersburg has been revoked. American representatives must completely vacate the administrative building previously allocated to them to house this institution no later than March 31," the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.
On March 26, the Trump administration decided to close the Russian Consulate General in Seattle and expel 60 Russian diplomats. These measures were taken in response to the poisoning of former GRU officer Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, UK. Among the 60 diplomats expelled were approximately ten employees of the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN.
Source: trn-news.ru
