This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
The United States has expelled Russia’s second-ranking diplomat in Washington in retaliation for the expulsion of the No. 2 U.S. diplomat in Moscow earlier this month, a senior State Department official said on February 24.
The diplomat expelled is Minister Counselor Sergei Trepelkov, who is currently the No. 2 at the mission under Ambassador Anatoly Antonov. The move follows Russia’s decision to expel U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Bart Gorman from Moscow earlier this month.
The official said the State Department informed the Russian Embassy on February 23 of the expulsion. The official spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement.
The expulsion comes as tensions between the United States and Russia hit a post-Cold War high over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the official said the move is unrelated to the unfolding military incursion. It is instead part of a long-running dispute between Washington and Moscow over embassy staffing.
The step was taken “as a direct response to the unprovoked Russian expulsion of our deputy chief of mission,” the official said. The United States will not allow actions like the expulsion of Gorman to “go without a response.”
