Russia to expel 10 US diplomats, ban key officials in Joe Biden’s government

Russia announced on Friday that expel ten US diplomats in response to Washington sanctions, adding that he “recommended” to the American ambassador in Moscow to return to his country.

“Ten diplomats were included in the list that was given to us with the request to leave the United States. We will respond to this measure reciprocally and we will ask ten American diplomats in Russia to leave our country.Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference.

Russia announced on Friday that banned the entry into the country of various senior US government officials, including the director of the FBI, the director of intelligence, the attorney general and the minister of internal security.

The head of the federal prison agency and two former senior officials in the Donald Trump administration are also barred from entry: the former national security adviser and the former director of the CIA.

In the same announcement, Lavrov claimed he would also expel five Polish diplomats, in response to the expulsion from Poland of three Russian diplomats, a decision taken Thursday by Warsaw to “show solidarity” with the new US sanctions against Moscow.

“We have seen how quickly Warsaw followed in the footsteps of the US administration, demanding that three Russian diplomats leave Poland. On your side, five Polish diplomats will be expelled from RussiaAdded the ministry.

The United States imposed several sanctions on Moscow on Thursday, which include the ban on U.S. banks from purchasing sovereign bonds from the central bank, state sovereign wealth fund, and the Department of Finance, by the interference in the November elections, computer intrusion and harassment from Ukraine.

In addition to expelling 10 American diplomats, he said that Moscow will put eight US officials on a sanctions list and end the activity in Russia of US funds and NGOs that it says interfere in the country’s internal affairs.

The diplomat said that Russia was also considering possible “painful” measures targeting American companies in Russia.

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, who proposed that he and Putin meet for a summit, on Thursday night called for lowering the tension following the sanctions announcement, and he said it was vital that the White House and the Kremlin keep the lines of communication open.

“(Putin) has repeatedly said that we are ready to develop the dialogue to the extent that our counterparts wish. In this sense, it is probably positive that the views of the two heads of state coincide.Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“Their views are categorically at odds when it comes to creating mutually beneficial relationships and considering each other’s interests.», He added about the sanctions.

The relationship between Russia and the United States has become the most distant since the Cold War last month., after Biden said he believed Putin was a “murderer” and Moscow called his ambassador to Washington for consultations. The envoy has not yet returned, almost a month later.

The sanctions were a response to suspicion of Moscow interference in last year’s US elections, cyberbullying, harassment from Ukraine and other suspected malicious actions.

The Kremlin said that Putin had yet to decide whether or not to attend a US-led climate summit.

With information from AFP and Reuters

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