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| Ten diplomats at the US embassy have been told to leave Russia. (Photo by=EPA) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] Russia expels 10 US diplomats and blacklisting eight top American officials in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the US on Thursday. BBC reported that those now banned from entering Russia include the director of the FBI and the US attorney general.
The White House says the US sanctions were in response to the "SolarWinds" hack last year, bullying Ukraine, and interference in the 2020 US election. They come amid a tense moment for Washington and Moscow relations. Russia has been moving thousands of troops towards Ukraine, while US warships have been heading for the Black Sea, warned off by the Russian foreign ministry.
Last month the US targeted seven Russian officials and more than a dozen government entities over the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Russia says it wasn’t involved. However, this week US President Joe Biden offered his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a summit - an offer that Moscow has said it views positively and is currently considering. Aside from expelling 10 Russian diplomats, the US is targeting 32 entities and officials accused of trying to influence the 2020 US presidential election "and other acts of disinformation". US financial institutions are also banned from purchasing rouble-denominated bonds from June.
