The US State Department said it received a list of American diplomats on Wednesday who have been declared “persona non grata” by the Russian foreign ministry. Although the number of diplomats affected is still unknown, their expulsion process from the US embassy in Moscow is already in order.
This was prompted after the Russian foreign ministry summoned the US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan on Monday condemning President Joe Biden’s description of Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal” over the invasion of Ukraine. Russia also warned the US was close to severing their diplomatic relations.
In response, the US State Department called this move “Russia’s latest unhelpful and unproductive step” in relations between the two countries. They also urged Russia “to end its unjustified expulsions of U.S. diplomats and staff.”
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