[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] On the 16th (local time), Russia announced that it would expel 10 American diplomats in response to U.S. sanctions imposed by the Joe Biden administration.
According to AFP, AP, and other agencies, Sergey Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, stated that tensions with the United States have reached an "unprecedented" level and made this announcement.
This move came a day after the U.S. announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats over allegations of interference in the U.S. presidential election and hacking of federal agencies, with Russia responding by expelling the same number of American diplomats the very next day.
Accordingly, Russia notified 10 U.S. diplomats of their expulsion and imposed entry bans on eight current and former high-ranking U.S. officials.
The entry ban list includes Merrick Garland, Attorney General; Christopher Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Susan Rice, Chair of the White House Domestic Policy Council from the Biden administration; as well as John Bolton, former White House National Security Advisor under former President Donald Trump.
Russia also advised John Sullivan, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, to return to his home country for consultations. This is the same measure that was taken against the Russian ambassador to the United States.
Minister Lavrov condemned the U.S. actions as "very unfriendly and unjust" and warned that painful measures would also be taken against American companies.
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