Elena Teslova
MOSCOW: Russia has decided to close the U.S. consulate in Saint Petersburg and expel “same number of diplomats”, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced Thursday.
The announcement came after the U.S. and 14 EU member states expelled dozens of Russian diplomats in an orchestrated reaction Monday, over the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the U.K.
Speaking at a news conference following his meeting with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in Moscow, Lavrov hinted that Russian measures against the U.S. could go further beyond.
He said Moscow would not just “mirror” actions, but added that for now this is all Russia was announcing to the world. The Russian foreign minister added that the U.S. envoy John Hatsman was also summoned Thursday. He added that Ru-ssia was convening an extraordinary meeting of the Organi-zation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on April 2 to discuss Skripal case. (AA)
