Russia Asks Ten American Diplomats to Leave in Retaliation

On Friday, the Russian government asked ten United States diplomats to leave the country in retaliation act to remove the same number of Russian diplomats from Washington over so-called destructive activity and proposed the American ambassador return home for consultations. Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the latest measures as part of a comprehensive retaliatory package against and to give a response to an array of American government sanctions slapped on Moscow one day before, including restrictions to its sovereign debt market.

However, Moscow responded immediately with solid actions designed to hurt the interests of America and shrink its diplomatic footprint in its country. However, it left the door open for negotiations and didn’t halt the idea, proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden, a Biden-Putin meeting. The Russian foreign ministry states that it is time for America to establish good sense and reverse its aggressive behavior. Moreover, the statement adds that they will implement an array of sore decisions for the United States in another case.

Joe Biden Called Vladimir Putin a Killer

The statement also said that it had options to hurt America economically and to restrict its diplomatic force in Russia to just three hundred people, but it was holding fire at the moment. Last month, American-Russian ties fell to a new post-Cold war after president Biden called Putin a killer, and Russia recalled its envoy to the U.S. for talks and future agenda. Whereas the ambassador still not returned to the country almost a month later.

Furthermore, John Sullivan, the Russian Foreign Minister, said that the Washington ambassador to Moscow should return its country for consultations too. On the other side, Washington stated that they imposed the sanctions on Russia as a retaliate for Russia interfering in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election results through bullying Ukraine, hacking through cyberattacks, and other alleged harmful actions. Whereas Russian denies all American allegations against it.

A representative of the U.S. State Department said by email the Friday response of Russia was regrettable and escalatory. It is not in the interest of the country to slip into an escalatory cycle, but the United States reverses the right to respond to any Moscow retaliation against America.

Retaliation from Russia

Russia expelled ten American diplomats from the country and banned wight high-ranked former and current American officials from entering Russia for their involvement in the anti-Russian course. Those banned officials included Secretary of Home Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Additionally, others to face an entry ban in Russia included the former United States National Security Advisor John Bolton, Director of the Domestic Policy Council Susan Rice, former CIA chief Robert James Woolsey and Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Michael Carvajal.

Russian Retaliate Measures against the United States

The foreign ministry of the country also announced to end the American activity in Russia, including funds and NGOs, which it believes interfere in the internal affairs of the country. Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, spoke of possible painful actions intended at American business in Russia.

Other measures intended to make it difficult for the United States embassy in Russia to staff itself. After imposing economic sanctions on Moscow, the American president called for a cutback in tensions and said it essential Kremlin and the White House kept communications lines open. Biden also proposed that he and the Russian president meet for a summit.

The spokesman of Putin, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters before the revelation of Russian retaliate sanctions that Putin frequently showed his willingness to develop dialogues as much as his counterparts are ready to do so. In this sense, it is maybe optimistic that the views of both heads of the countries coincide.

The foreign ministry added that views of both of them categorically don’t coincide when it comes to establishing relations reciprocally and taking the interests of each other into account. Furthermore, the ministry said that they would like to avoid more escalation with the U.S. They are ready for professional and calm negotiation with America.

However, the reality is that Moscow hears one thing from Washington, and in fact, they see something entirely different. So, undoubtedly, not a single sanctions wave will remain unpunished, the ministry adds. The Kremlin states that Putin still has to decide whether he will participate in a United States-led climate summit next week. It would difficult to organize a Biden-Putin summit instantly.

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