Putin bites back at Biden’s sanctions by expelling 10 diplomats and banning top officials including Secretary of State Blinken from Moscow as tensions soar
- Moscow banned a number of top Biden officials in retaliation for the sanctions
- Includes Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice and FBI chief Christopher Wray
- Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that Russia was responding to US sanctions in ‘a tit-for-tat manner’
- However the Kremlin did say they viewed prospects of a summit ‘positively’
- Tensions on the Ukrainian border are also building with Russia’s troop build-up
- Putin on Thursday closed the Kerch Strait to all foreign warships for six months
By AFP
Russia on Friday banned top officials from Joe Biden’s administration from entering the country and expelled 10 US diplomats from Moscow as it announced a wave of tit-for-tat sanctions amid soaring tensions.
Moscow nonetheless said it viewed the prospect of a summit between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin this summer ‘positively’.
On Thursday, Washington announced sanctions and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats in retaliation for what it says is interference by the Kremlin in US elections, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity, including troop movement on the Ukrainian border.
Moscow hit back by saying top US officials including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Biden’s chief Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice, and FBI chief Christopher Wray would not be welcome in Russia.
Earlier Friday Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that Russia was asking ten US diplomats to leave the country.They also kicked out five Polish diplomats in response to a similar move by Warsaw.
Lavrov also said that Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, had recommended that US envoy John Sullivan leave for Washington to conduct ‘serious consultations’ with the President.
Tensions on the Ukrainian border are also building with Russia’s troop build-up. Putin on Thursday closed the Kerch Strait to all foreign warships for six months.
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