Russia expels two US diplomats
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of two employees from the US Embassy in Moscow, identified as CIA agents. The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said this on Saturday, July 9. According to him, it’s a response to the US having reported the expulsion of two Russian officials from the US the day before.
Ryabkov added that the two US Embassy employees have been declared persona non grata.
Moscow called these diplomats CIA agents.
Earlier on July 8, the US stated that two Russian officials were expelled in response to the attack on a US diplomat in Moscow. That happened earlier on June 17.
On June 6, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said that a Russian policeman attacked an accredited Russian diplomat from the US when he tried to enter the US Embassy building.
“This action was not provoked by anything. It compromised the safety of our employees,” the representative from the State Department said.