Diplomatic feud threatens embassy operations in Russia
MOSCOW — The scope of Russia’s retaliatory expulsions of Western diplomats grew clearer Friday as the Kremlin summoned 23 ambassadors to issue eviction orders, while diplomatic veterans questioned how the U.S. Embassy, with a greatly reduced staff, could perform basic tasks.
The ambassadors, mostly European, called to the Kremlin on Friday were told that their diplomatic staffs would be cut by the same number of people as had been lost by Russian embassies in their own capitals during a recently coordinated ouster of more than 150 Russian diplomats.
On Thursday, Russia said it would expel 60 U.S. diplomats.