BY Mazino Dickson
US President Donald Trump has ordered the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats, comprising 48 employees of the Russian embassy and 12 people who have been assigned to the UN in New York.
An official in the Trump administration disclosed this to reporters on Monday.
“The total number today that we’re talking about is 60. That includes 48 members of the Russian embassy in New York … and 12 at the UN,” the official said.
Last week the EU recalled its ambassador from Moscow for consultations over the nerve gas attack against a former spy in Britain, reinforcing a united stand with Prime Minister Theresa May against Russia.
The EU said it was “highly likely Russia is responsible” for the attack on Sergei Skripal.
May won the backing of 27 other EU leaders at a summit Thursday and the bloc called the attack a “grave challenge to our shared security”.
Russia has strongly denied responsibility and has slammed Britain’s investigation.
Britain and Russia have expelled 23 of each other’s diplomats in a dispute showing no sign of easing.
Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, accused the UK Thursday of having a “bad record of violating international law and misleading the international community.”
“History shows that British statements must be verified,” he told reporters in London, demanding “full transparency of the investigation and full cooperation with Russia” and the Organisation for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW).”
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