EU and US expel Russian diplomats

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FaxModem1
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EU and US expel Russian diplomats

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NPR
U.S. Expels 60 Russian Officials, Closes Consulate In Seattle
March 26, 20189:00 AM ET
LAUREL WAMSLEY

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The White House announced Monday that it was expelling dozens of Russian officials from the U.S. President Trump is seen walking across the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Updated 10:40 a.m. ET

President Trump ordered the expulsion of 60 Russian officials from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, the White House announced Monday.

The move follows the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.

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The officials and their families have been given seven days to leave the U.S. Of the 60 officers being expelled, 48 are members of the Russian Embassy and 12 are officers from Russia's mission to the United Nations in New York.

The consulate in Seattle is being shuttered because of its proximity to a U.S. submarine base and Boeing's operations there, a senior administration official said. Russia has been given the deadline of April 2 for its closure.

"The United States takes this action in conjunction with our NATO allies, and partners around the world in response with Russia's use of a military grade chemical weapon on the soil of the United Kingdom — the latest in its ongoing pattern of destabilizing activities around the world," the official said.

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"Today's actions make the United States safer by reducing Russia's ability to spy on Americans, and to conduct covert operations that threaten America's national security," the official continued. "With these steps, the United States and our allies and partners make clear to Russia that its actions have consequences."

Reuters reports that Russia's ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, called the U.S. decision to expel Russian diplomats "wrongful" and said it was harming already weak U.S.-Russian ties, according to the RIA news agency.

The Russian news agency also quoted a member of the upper house of the Russian parliament as saying that Russia would expel at least 60 staff from U.S. diplomatic missions in the country, Reuters reports.

A senior British official said in a statement that the U.K. "welcomes President Trump's announcement of this morning about the expulsion of Russian diplomats. This follows the appalling attack on British soil on innocent civilians using a military-grade nerve agent. This is an exceptionally strong signal of transatlantic unity, US leadership, and support for the UK and Prime Minister Theresa May."

The expulsions come amid internal conflict at the White House and State Department on how to handle Russia. Last week, Trump congratulated Vladimir Putin on his re-election as president and did not bring up Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign nor Russia's hacking of the U.S. power grid. But Trump is also bringing in John Bolton, a Russia hawk, as his national security adviser. The U.S. has also instituted more sanctions against Russia.

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Many European countries made the same move on Monday. Germany, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Estonia, Italy, Poland and Lithuania all announced that they would be asking Russian diplomats to leave.

The German foreign ministry said in a statement that "the expulsion of four diplomats is a strong signal of solidarity with Great Britain and signals the resolve of the Germany government not to leave attacks against our closest partners and allies unanswered," the Associated Press reports.
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EnterpriseSovereign
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Re: EU and US expel Russian diplomats

Post by EnterpriseSovereign »

As others have predicted in the other thread here, attention is being turned to the Russian money entering the London property market, though nothing official is happening yet.
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