Two Russian diplomats have been declared “undesirable persons” by the USA. You have to leave the country. It’s probably a retaliatory measure.
The US government is expelling two Russian diplomats in retaliation for the expulsion of two of its diplomats from Moscow. Two representatives of the Russian embassy in the USA have been declared “undesirable persons”, a spokesman for the US State Department said on Friday. This is the “answer” to the expulsion of two US diplomats from Moscow in September.
The ministry “will not tolerate the pattern of harassment of our diplomats by the Russian government,” the spokesman said. “The State Department’s actions send a clear message that unacceptable actions against our embassy staff in Moscow will have consequences.”
Relations between Moscow and Washington at their lowest point
Russia expelled two US diplomats in September. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said the two diplomats were “liaisons” for Robert Schonow, a former Russian employee of the US consulate in Vladivostok who was arrested in May on espionage charges. The USA has firmly rejected the espionage allegations.
In recent years there have been a number of mutual expulsions of diplomats between Moscow and Washington. Relations between the two countries are at a low point, especially since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022.