US expels 60 Russian spies over nerve attack in UK
14 EU nations, Canada,
Ukraine to expel diplomats
AFP
US President Donald Trump has ordered the expulsion of 60 alleged Russian spies from the United States in response to a nerve agent attack on an ex-spy in the English city of Salisbury, reports AFP from Washington. Meanwhile, fourteen EU states are expelling Russian diplomats in a coordinated response to the nerve agent attack, EU President Donald Tusk said. Canada has also ordered the expulsion of four Russian diplomats and denied credentials for three others over the incident and Ukraine announced it will expel 13 Russian diplomats.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the move, part of globally coordinated retaliation against Moscow, was taken in response to Russias use of a military-grade chemical weapon on the soil of the United Kingdom. Officials said that 48 known intelligence officers posted to the United States and 12 more at the Russian mission to the United Nations now have seven days to leave the country.
Trump has also ordered the closure of the consulate in Seattle, which officials said was the focus of spying efforts against the nearby Kitsap submarine base and Boeing. One senior administration official said that there were still more that 40 known Russian intelligence officers operating in the United States, but Moscows collection capabilities would be significantly affected by the move.
On March 4, former spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious, slumped on a bench outside a shopping center in Salisbury.
Sergei Skripal, a former Russian officer who sold secrets to Britain and moved there in a 2010 spy swap, and his daughter remain in critical condition. Britain says a military-grade nerve agent was used to poison them.
After initial mixed messages about who was to blame, Washington now agrees with Britains assessment that Russia was behind the attack. The message, a second senior administration said, is when you attack our friends you will face consequences. 14 EU member states to expel Russian diplomats
Meanwhile, speaking at a news conference in Varna, Bulgaria, EU President Donald Tusk said As a direct follow-up to last weeks European Council decision to react to Russia within a common framework, already today 14 member states have decided to expel Russian diplomats.
Additional measures including further expulsions are not to be excluded in the coming days and weeks, he added.
The move came after British Prime Minister Theresa May addressed fellow European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels to urge them to support Britains assessment that Russia was to blame. The 28 EU states issued a statement saying they agreed it was highly likely Russia was responsible for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on March 4, and ordered the recall of the blocs ambassador to Moscow.
Germany, France and Poland have so far said they will each expel four Russia diplomats, the Czech Republic and Lithuania three, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands two, and Latvia one.
Canada expels four Russian diplomats
Canada yesterday ordered the expulsion of four Russian diplomats and denied credentials for three others over the poisoning of a former spy in Britain.
We are taking these measures in solidarity with the United Kingdom, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said.
The nerve agent attack in Salisbury, on the soil of Canadas close partner and ally, is a despicable, heinous and reckless act, potentially endangering the lives of hundreds, she said.
The four diplomats serving at either Russias embassy in Ottawa or its consulate in Montreal have been identified as intelligence officers or individuals who have used their diplomatic status to undermine Canadas security or interfere in our democracy.
Applications by Russia to add three more diplomatic staff in this country were denied for similar reasons.
The Canadian foreign minister called the nerve agent attack a clear threat to the rules-based international order and a breach of conventions against chemical weapons use.
She added it was part of a wider pattern of unacceptable behavior by Russia, including complicity with the Assad regime (in Syria), the annexation of Crimea, Russian-led fighting in eastern Ukraine, support for civil strife in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other neighboring countries, interference in elections, and disinformation campaigns.
Ukraine to expel 13 Russian diplomats
Ukraine is to expel 13 Russian diplomats as part of a coordinated effort by European nations and the US to punish Russia over an attack on a former Russian spy in England, President Petro Poroshenko announced Monday.
In response to a cynical chemical attack in Salisbury, Ukraine, in the spirit of solidarity with our British partners and transatlantic allies and in coordination with EU countries, decided to expel 13 Russian diplomats from the few that remain (in Kiev), Poroshenko posted on his Facebook page.
He said Ukraines diplomatic relations with Russia had been de facto frozen since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and began to support separatists in countrys east. The next step is to increase the price that Moscow has to pay for its international crimes, including the strengthening of personal, financial and economic sanctions, Poroshenko added.
Kiev and the West accuse Russia of deploying troops and arms to the rebels in the east and fuelling the armed conflict that has claimed more than 10,000 lives. Currently there is no Russian ambassador in Ukraine. Kiev also replaced its own ambassador to Moscow with a temporary representative.
