Russia expects US to expel further 28 diplomats by June end, says Ambassador Antonov

Amid escalating tensions between the West and Moscow over Ukarine crisis, the Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that the Kremlin expects Washington to order further 28 Russian diplomats to leave by June end. Notably, the deployment of over 100,000 Russian troops at the Ukrainian border has become a major flashpoint in soaring relations between Moscow and the West. While the US has started moving thousands of troops to Eastern Europe in order to defend its allies, the Kremlin, on the other hand, has repeatedly accused Washington of “igniting tensions” on the continent with US deployments in Eastern Europe.   

Now, speaking on the Solovyov Live show, Antonov said, “A further 28 Russian diplomats will have to leave the US by June 30.”

The Ambassador noted that 27 Russian diplomats who were told last November to leave the United States by the end of January were threatened with arrests if they lingered a day longer. When asked whether the two nations were on a brink of cutting diplomatic ties, Antonov stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin would decide on the next steps. However, he also promised that Russia would keep trying to avoid a diplomatic breakdown. 

"This falls in the competence of our president," Antonov said, adding that the embassy would "work until the last diplomat to defend our national interest while trying to normalise the US-Russian relationship."

Further, Antonov noted that Russian diplomats last met with their American counterparts in Vienna on February 3. But he added that the meeting failed to produce any positive results. "Russian colleagues came there with a positive program that was aimed solely at removing all limits on diplomatic work in the US and Russia, allowing diplomats to work, as usual, ending the visa war and restoring functions of our diplomatic missions," he explained. 

Russia expects further US sanctions

Moreover, after Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met during the Winter Olympics in Beijing, Antonov stated that Washington is getting concerned because of the fact that Moscow has currently been moving closer to Beijing. According to him, Russia is preparing for further US sanctions. The Russian envoy said, “Unfortunately, we expect sanctions. There is no telling what they will be. Much of the squabbling has been about who will hit Russia harder and more painfully.”

​​In recent months, tensions between Moscow and Kyiv have escalated drastically over the Russian troops' build-up close to the Ukraine border. The US and European Union have expressed concern over the military build-up near the Ukrainian border. Previously, the West announced that Moscow would face "massive consequences and severe costs" if it attacks Ukraine. However, Russia continues to deny accusations that it is planning an invasion. Furthermore, Moscow stressed that NATO's presence near Russian borders is a threat to its national security. 

(Image: AP)