The State Department has confirmed that Bart Gorman, the US deputy ambassador to Moscow, has been expelled from the country.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that “Russia’s actions against the deputy ambassador have been carried out without provocation. We consider this a violent move and are considering our own response.”
Russia has given no reason for the expulsion of the top US diplomat, but the move comes amid growing concerns in the United States and the West over Russia’s possible invasion of Ukraine.
The State Department spokesman also said in a statement that “it is more important than ever for diplomats to be in a position to maintain relations between the two governments.”
“We call on Russia to stop expelling American diplomats unnecessarily and to do whatever it takes to restore our mission,” the statement said.
Mr. Gorman has been a senior diplomat and key member of the team since becoming ambassador to the US Embassy in Moscow. He had been on a mission in Moscow for three years.
This is not the first time Moscow and Washington have clashed over diplomats. The two countries have already taken out different excuses for each other’s diplomats.
In December last year, Washington asked 27 Russian diplomats and their families to leave the United States by January 30, and Russia responded by asking US diplomats, who had been with the United States for more than three years, to leave. Living in Moscow, he asked to leave the country in a month.
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