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Russia expels two American diplomats

2023-09-14 18:56:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Russia expels two American diplomats

Russia said on Thursday it is expelling two US diplomats, saying they worked with a Russian citizen accused of collaborating with a foreign state, Reuters reports .

The Foreign Office said in a statement that it had called the US envoy, Lynne Tracy, and told her that the embassy's first secretary, Jeffrey Sillin, and second secretary, David Bernstein, must leave Russia within seven days.

The US Embassy confirmed the announcement. The State Department in Washington has not yet commented.

In the statement of Moscow, it is stated that the mentioned persons have carried out illegal activities, keeping in contact with the Russian citizen R. Shonov.

Robert Shonov had been employed by the US Consulate General in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok for more than 25 years until in 2021 Russia ordered the dismissal of local US mission staff.

The Russian security service released a video in August that it said showed Shonov admitting that U.S. diplomats had asked him to gather information about Russia's war effort in Ukraine, its annexation of "new territories," the mobilization its military and the 2024 presidential elections.

In the video, Mr. Shonov said he was told to collect "negative" information on these topics, look for signs of popular protests and reflect these in his reports.

The United States accused Moscow of trying to intimidate American employees after Russian state media reported the allegations against Mr. Shonov and said the Russian security service planned to interrogate embassy workers who had been in contact with him.

When he was arrested in May, the State Department said the case highlighted Russia's "blatant use of increasingly oppressive laws" against its citizens and that the charges against Mr. Shonov were "totally unfounded."/ CNA





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