Alwaght- Russia on Saturday said it had expelled two US spies masquerading as diplomats in an apparent retaliatory move after Washington ordered out two Russian officials over an attack on an embassy worker last month.
Russia's Foreign Ministry confirmed reports about US authorities expelling two Russian diplomats from Washington DC following an incident outside the US Embassy in Moscow on June 6, 2016, when a US diplomat was allegedly ‘beaten’ by Russian security staff.
“I can confirm that […] the US government did demand the departure of two employees of the Russian Embassy in Washington DC without presenting any complaints to the employees themselves. Furthermore, the State Department strongly asked us not to make this fact public. As you can see, it is customary for American diplomats to keep their word,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.
“The American diplomat - or, more accurately, a CIA officer who worked under the embassy’s cover and was returning to the compound disguised after conducting an intelligence operation - attacked a police officer, who was carrying out his duty protecting the diplomatic mission,” Ryabkov explained.
“The video footage of the incident was shown on July 7 on NTV channel and speaks for itself – in the middle of the night a man wearing a knitted hat pulled low over his head, despite the fact it’s summer, jumps out of a taxi and rushes to the entrance of the embassy, without making any attempt to show his identity. When the guard rushes to intercept him in order to prevent a possible threat to the diplomatic mission, he hits the officer in the face with his elbow, which is, in fact, a criminal offense,” the official noted.
Ryabkov said the US agent who was involved in the incident had to be deported from Russia along with another CIA operative in response to similar actions targeting Russian diplomats.
“After their [the US authorities’] unfriendly step two employees of the US Embassy had to leave Moscow. They were declared ‘undesirable’ for activities incompatible with their diplomatic status. The very night hoodlum is one of them, along with another CIA operative,” Ryabkov said.
US authorities have denied that it was the US diplomat who provoked the incident on June 6.
