In dispute over poison attack on Russian ex-agent Sergei Skripal, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced closure of US consulate in St. Petersburg. In addition, US envoy is to be ordered, said Lavrov. In addition, Russia wanted to include diplomats from or countries that had declared Russian representatives to be undesirable persons.
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The U.S. ambassador to Moscow was appointed to Foreign Ministry, where deputy minister Sergei Rjabkow informed him about Russian measures, said Lavrov. In addition, as many diplomats would have to leave country as Russian representatives were expelled from or countries that had participated in action against Russia. “For now, that’s all,” said minister.
According to Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, US diplomats have time to leave Russia until April 5. It affects 58 diplomats from US embassy in Moscow and two from US consulate in Jeterinburg. The consulate in St. Petersburg must be vacated by Saturday at latest. The ministry warned against furr “hostile measures” of United States against Russian diplomatic missions.
USA: Measures are not justified
The US ambassador to Russia criticized Russian retaliation. There was “no justification” for this, said John Huntsman after Russia’s announcement. The procedure shows that Moscow has no interest in a dialogue with US on important matters. The spokesperson for US State Department, Hear Nauert, said: “Russia should not behave like a victim”. The US would have right to respond to Russia’s reaction, she said.
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Three days ago, U.S. government had announced that it would expel 60 Russian diplomats from country and close consulate in Seattle. Russia had described relationship with United States as shattered and repeatedly announced an appropriate response. With this step, ” little that is left of Russian-American relations will be destroyed,” said Russian ambassador in USA, Anatoly Antonov.
The expulsion of Russian diplomats was coordinated with EU and or Governments: 26 states and NATO have so far reported more than 140 Russian diplomats. In solidarity with United Kingdom, Germany had also declared four representatives of Russia as undesirable persons – a possible expulsion of German diplomats, but Lavrov said nothing at first.
The case of Skripal has triggered a diplomatic crisis
The Skripal case is increasingly burdening diplomatic relations of West with Russia. Britain accuses Russia of being responsible for poisoning attack on Russian ex-spy. The Russian government rejected accusations again. They are “fraud” and an “international provocation”.
The expulsion of Russian diplomats was a result of “colossal” pressure that United States and Britain had exerted on or countries, Russian Foreign Ministry shared. “We invite US authorities, which promote a defamatory campaign against our country, to come back to reason and stop ill-considered measures to destroy bilateral relations,” declaration said.
In face of growing tensions, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of a kind of new Cold War. Precautions such as back n were necessary to ensure that “things do not get out of control when tensions increase,” he said.
The crackdown on Kremlin with expulsion of diplomats is controversial in EU. The Russian government had repeatedly pointed out that Britain had not submitted any concrete evidence against Russia. For this reason, several EU countries, including Austria, Luxembourg and Greece, have not yet been designated as diplomats.
Daughter of Skripal no longer in critical condition
Sergei Skripal, toger with his daughter Julia, was found unconscious in a shopping mall in Salisbury, England in early March. They had come in contact with a nerve poison. Julia Skripal is now doing better. In contrast to her far, she was no longer in critical condition, and attending hospital in Salisbury shared it on Thursday.
According to Lavrov, Russia has convened a meeting of Organization’s secretariat for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to talk about Skripal case. The task of Organization is to determine means by which Skripal and his daughter have been poisoned, and not to verify British conclusions.
Investigators believe that two victims of attack have probably come into contact with neurotoxin Nowitschok at doorstep of Skripals accommodation in Salisbury. According to police, highest concentration of poison was found re. The former Russian military intelligence specialist was convicted in Russia for espionage for Britain in 2006. He was in prison in Russia until he was released in 2010 with an agent exchange and settled in England.
