Russian Federation on Saturday said its expelled two Americans in connection with an incident last month outside the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
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In 2013, Russian Federation expelled and exposed a suspected spy who was working undercover at the United States embassy in Moscow.
“We hope that Washington will recognize the perversity of its aggressive anti-Russian line. If they decide to move further along the path of escalation it will not remain unanswered”, Ryabkov warned.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said that on 6 June, a Russian policeman attacked an accredited USA diplomat entering the U.S. embassy compound after the American official identified himself.
The incident, Kirby said comes on the heels of two years of increasing diplomatic harassment by Russian authorities that is also unprovoked and unnecessary.
Earlier she explained that in reality, overnight to June 6, a taxi drove over to the USA embassy compound, and an unknown man in a hat that closed his face ran out of it and ran to the entrance.
Earlier this week, Russian state television broadcast what appeared to be video footage of the scuffle.
Kirby said the attack was “unprovoked and it endangered the safety of our employee”.
The spokesman for USA diplomacy, John Kirby, said that a Russian officer assaulted on June 6 an accredited American diplomat who was entering the grounds of the United States embassy, although the U.S. official had shown his identity.
The incident is the latest in a string of complaints about the ill-treatment of American diplomats and their families in the Russian capital.
Hassling foreign diplomatic staff has always been standard practice for Russian security services, with embassy workers often expecting to be followed or even to have their furniture moved around by their agent-minders, though a physical assault is highly exceptional.
However, the man, instead of showing his ID, hit the police officer with an elbow in the face, pushed him out of the way and hid in the embassy, she said.
“The Russian claim the policeman was protecting the embassy from an unidentified individual is simply untrue”, the allegation said. Furthermore, the State Department strongly asked us not to make this fact public.
Moscow also accused Washington of failing to “keep their word” by announcing the expulsions after the United States asked Russian Federation not to publicize the event.
Russian Federation struck back by expelling two United States diplomats in retaliation, claiming they were involved in “activities incompatible with their diplomatic status”.
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“Instead of the Central Intelligence Agency employee, who was in disguise, as we understand, it could have been anyone – a terrorist, an extremist, a suicide bomber”, Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told NTV, adding that the guard was just doing his job.
