The interference by the US Embassy in Moscow in the internal affairs of Russia is unacceptable and will be vigorously suppressed, states the information from the Russian Foreign Ministry with regard to declaring two employees of the US Embassy in Moscow persona non grata.
The note also emphasized that the illegal activity of the US diplomatic mission, including interference in the internal affairs of the host country, is unacceptable and will be resolutely suppressed.
“The Russian side expects that Washington will draw the right conclusions and will refrain from confrontational steps,” the Russian diplomatic department noted.
Russian Foreign Ministry previously informed in a phone call the head of the American diplomatic mission in Moscow, Lynn Tracy, that Moscow declared two US embassy staff – the First Secretary of the US Embassy, Jeffrey Sillin, and the Second Secretary of the Embassy, David Bernstein – ‘persona non grata’ and summoned Washington’s ambassador in Moscow.
The US Ambassador was given a harsh demarche and a note stating that the actions of the first and second secretaries of the Embassy were incompatible with the diplomatic status.
“These individuals carried out illegal activities by maintaining contact with Russian citizen Robert Shonov, accused of “confidential cooperation” with a foreign state,” reported the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The US Ambassador was told that Sillin and Bernstein, who maintained contact with US informant Shonov, must leave Russian territory within seven days with the status of persona non grata.
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