The US State Department said that the diplomat was being expelled for no reason and called such a step “escalatory”.
Moscow expelled US Deputy Ambassador Bart Gorman from Russia.
“Gorman was the second most important official at the US Embassy in Moscow after the ambassador and a key member of the senior leadership of the embassy,” Jason Rebholz, spokesman for the diplomatic mission, told Russian media.
According to CNN, the US State Department said that the diplomat was being expelled for no reason, and called such a move “escalatory.” Gorman had a valid visa and had been in Russia for less than three years.
“Russia's actions against our diplomat were unprovoked, and we consider this an escalation step and are preparing our response,” the State Department said.
The US State Department called on Russia to “stop the groundless expulsion of American diplomats and employees.”
“Now more than ever, it is important that our countries have the necessary diplomatic staff to facilitate communication between our governments,” the statement said.
Recall that US President Joe Biden said that Russia could attack Ukraine “within the next few days.”
Earlier, British Foreign Secretary Liz Thrus, Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg suggested that by aggravating the situation in Donbas, Russia could create a pretext for invading Ukraine.
