The US said those ordered to leave had “abused their privileges” of residence in the United States.
Moscow:
Russia’s ambassador to Washington on Monday called the US expulsion of 12 UN staff a “hostile move”.
“This is a hostile move against our country,” Anatoly Antonov said on Facebook, adding that Moscow was “deeply disappointed” and the US claims were “completely rejected”.
A spokesman for the US mission to the United Nations said those ordered to leave had “abused their privileges of residence in the United States by engaging in espionage activities that are prejudicial to our national security”.
But Antonov said Washington has once again “failed to fulfill its obligations to ensure normal conditions for the functioning of foreign missions in the United Nations”.
“Russian diplomats have been targeted again,” he said.
“Washington’s actions are neither intended to defuse the situation on the international front nor to maintain bilateral relations between the two great powers at the level necessary for peace and international security,” he said.
According to Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, 12 have been ordered to leave by March 7.
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