Russia on May 21 listed 10 more U.S. diplomats as persona non grata and required to leave the country by May 21. The photo shows the exterior of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement that Bart Gorman, deputy head of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Russia, received a note from the Russian side on May 21 declaring 10 diplomats from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow “persona non grata” and required to leave Russia by May 21, TASS reported. This is a follow-up to Russia’s mutual agreement with Ukraine and the Czech Republic. This is the latest wave of Russian diplomatic expulsions, following the mutual expulsions of diplomats from Ukraine and the Czech Republic, as if the two sides were in a diplomatic expulsion contest.
The statement said that the U.S. side has listed the diplomatic staff of the Russian Embassy in Beijing and the Consulate General in New York as persona non grata for no reason. In direct response to the U.S. hostility, the Russian side decided to similarly classify 10 U.S. envoys in Moscow as personae non gratae.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that Moscow had already warned in an April 16 statement that it would take a series of retaliatory measures in response to the recent illegal anti-Russian sanctions, and now Russia has again announced that it will take further measures in the near future in response to Washington’s anti-Russian sanctions.
In fact, relations between the United States and Russia have been quite tense in recent days over issues such as Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on the 15th, announcing the blacklisting of 30 Russian companies and individuals and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats in order to punish Moscow for its interference in the U.S. election, hacking attacks and various misdeeds against Ukraine. Subsequently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov returned the favor by expelling 10 U.S. diplomats from Russia on March 16.
Russia is not only in tension with the United States, but also with Ukraine and the Czech Republic over territorial disputes and the 2014 arsenal bombing, which led to the expulsion of diplomats from each other. Russia is in an unusually tense relationship with other countries over the diplomatic expulsion contest.
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