The two American diplomats have been declared ‘persona non grata’.
Moscow:
The Russian government has expelled two American diplomats for allegedly maintaining contact with a Russian who worked for the US mission and is accused by Moscow of being an “informant,” CNN reported. The two diplomats, Jeffrey Sillin and David Bernstein, have been declared ‘persona non grata’, meaning they must leave the country within a week.
The United States condemned Russia’s decision, saying Moscow “chose confrontation and escalation over constructive diplomatic engagement.”
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy in Moscow, US Ambassador Lynne Tracy was summoned to the ministry on Thursday. Lynne Tracy was told that the two diplomats, Jeffrey Sillin and David Bernstein, have been declared ‘persona non grata’, meaning they must leave the country within a week.
US State Department spokesman Matt Miller condemned Russia’s decision to expel two diplomats. Miller said Russia has once again chosen “confrontation and escalation over constructive diplomatic engagement.” He further said the US would “respond appropriately” to Russia’s actions.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Matt Miller said: “This unprovoked expulsion of our diplomatic staff is completely unwarranted, as is the case against a former Russian contractor to our embassy who was arrested for the allegedly nefarious task of carrying out such activities as providing our embassy with media fragments.”
He further said: “Russia has once again chosen confrontation and escalation over constructive diplomatic engagement. It continues to harass employees of our embassy, just as it continues to intimidate its own citizens. We regret that Russia has taken this path, and that is possible. certainly expects us to respond appropriately to their actions.”
Miller said the expelled US diplomats have not yet left Russia, according to CNN. The expulsion of the two US diplomats comes at a time when ties between Washington and Moscow are tense.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tracy “received a harsh demarche with the presentation of an official note on the incompatibility with the diplomatic status of the actions of the First Secretary of the US Embassy Jeffrey Sillin and the Second Secretary of the US Embassy”. Embassy David Bernstein.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said these individuals were carrying out “illegal activities” and in contact with Russian national Robert Shonov, the CNN report said. It called the “illegal activities” of the US diplomatic mission, including interference in the host country’s internal affairs, “unacceptable.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said: “These individuals carried out illegal activities and maintained contact with Russian citizen (Robert) Shonov, accused of ‘confidential cooperation’ with a foreign state, who was given tasks for financial compensation aimed at harming the national security of the state. Russian Federation.”
It further said: “It was also emphasized that illegal activities of the US diplomatic mission, including interference in the internal affairs of the host country, are unacceptable and will be resolutely suppressed. The Russian side expects Washington to draw the right conclusions and refrain from confrontational steps.”
Russian citizen Shonov, who had served in the US consulate in Vladivostok for more than 25 years, was arrested and charged with “confidential cooperation” with a foreign government, CNN reported citing Russian state media outlet TASS in May.
US State Department spokesman Matt Miller called the allegations “completely baseless.” He said Shonov worked for “a company contracted to provide services to the US Embassy in Moscow in strict compliance with Russian laws and regulations” after the Russian government banned the US from hiring Russian personnel in 2021. CNN reported.
In May, Miller said Shonov’s role at the time of his arrest was “compiling media summaries of press articles from publicly available Russian media sources.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
