Photo credit: Aaron Siirila / en.wikipedia.org (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Almost 30 Russian diplomats are due to leave the United States by the end of the month, RIA Novosti reports. Almost the same number will leave the country by the middle of the year.
According to Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov, the majority of the first group already left the country.
The ambassador explained that 184 people would remain in the diplomatic mission in Washington. This list includes both diplomatic and technical staff.
The senior diplomat noted that Russia reserves the right to retaliate. He hopes that Moscow would continue to act on the principle of reciprocity.
Earlier, the ambassador explained that Washington deliberately separates the families of the employees of the Russian diplomatic mission - spouses are deprived of accreditation, children are denied visas. He added that the United States is positioning itself as a country that cares about family traditions. The atmosphere in the US is still "poisoned by Russophobia", "virtually nothing changes," the ambassador summed up. He recalled that this does not allow bilateral relations to develop.
Russkiy Mir
