US President Donald Trump has authorized 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. European Union President Donald Tusk also said that 14 countries from the EU were also expelling Russian diplomats.
Senior US administration officials said that 48 “known intelligence officers” at the Russian consulate in Seattle and 12 more at the Russian mission to the UN have seven days to leave the country. Ukraine has decided to expel 13 Russian diplomats according to President Petro Porochenko. France and Germany have announced the expulsion of four Russian diplomats each.
The foreign ministers of Lithuania and Poland on Monday said they would expel Russia diplomats in solidarity with Britain over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the English city of Salisbury. The Lithuanian foreign minister said his country will expel three diplomats, while his Polish counterpart said 4 diplomats will be getting expelled.
Denmark also announced the expulsion of two Russian envoys, while Canada also expelled four Russian diplomats. The expulsions of Russian diplomats came as the countries decided to show solidarity with the UK. The US has said that Russia needs to change behavior for better relations. The UK has hailed “the extraordinary international response”. Russia, on the other hand, vowed to react to ‘provocative’ expulsions of diplomats.
