US expels Russia’s No. 2 diplomat at Washington embassy in retaliation for Moscow expulsion of its envoy

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Washington,
Feb
24:The
United
States
has
expelled
Russia’s
second-ranking
diplomat
in
Washington
in
retaliation
for
the
Russian
expulsion
of
the
No.
2
U.S.
diplomat
in
Moscow
earlier
this
month,
a
senior
State
Department
official
said
Thursday.

The
expulsion
is
unrelated
to
the
unfolding
Russian
invasion
of
Ukraine
and
is
part
of
a
long-running
dispute
between
Washington
and
Moscow
over
embassy
staffing.
However,
it
comes
as
tensions
between
the
two
capitals
have
hit
a
post-Cold
War
high
over
Ukraine.

The
official
said
the
State
Department
had
informed
the
Russian
Embassy
on
Wednesday
that
it
is
expelling
Minister
Counselor
Sergey
Trepelkov,
who
is
currently
the
No.
2
at
the
mission
under
Ambassador
Anatoly
Antonov.
Russia
expelled
U.S.
Deputy
Chief
of
Mission
Bart
Gorman
from
Moscow
in
mid-February.

The
official,
who
was
not
authorised
to
discuss
the
expulsion
ahead
of
a
formal
announcement
and
spoke
on
condition
of
anonymity,
said
the
step
was
taken
“as
a
direct
response
to
the
unprovoked
Russian
expulsion
of
our
deputy
chief
of
mission.”

Despite
plummeting
relations
over
the
current
situation
in
Ukraine,
the
official
said
the
U.S.
still
believes
it
is
important
to
maintain
diplomatic
contacts
“to
facilitate
communication
between
our
governments.”
But,
the
official
said
it
would
not
allow
actions
like
Gorman’s
expulsion
“go
without
a
response.”

Aside
from
tensions
over
Ukraine,
the
United
States
and
Russia
have
been
locked
in
a
tit-for-tat
battle
over
diplomatic
staffing
in
each
other’s
countries
since
early
2017
when
the
Obama
administration
ordered
several
Russian
diplomatic
missions
in
the
United
States
closed
and
expelled
numerous
Russian
diplomats
over
Moscow’s
interference
in
the
2016
presidential
election.
Russia
responded
with
reciprocal
measures
and
the
situation
has
since
escalated.