It was the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, who revealed this information in a spectacular way.
As he was about to give a press conference, he asked the audience for a minute to respond to a phone message. He then indicated that he had just learned of this expulsion notified by the United States.
It’s bad news
he reacted, stressing that the persons concerned had been ordered to leave American territory before March 7.
The Russian ambassador did not specify whether he was among those expelled or the reason given by the United States, whether or not it was related to the war in Ukraine.
A measure in preparation for many months
American confirmation came a little later, accompanied by heavy accusations.
The United States has notified the United Nations and Russia’s permanent mission to the UN that we are beginning the process of expelling 12 intelligence agents from the Russian mission who abused
their diplomatic status in the United States by engaging in espionage activities contrary to our national security
said the spokeswoman for the American mission to the UN, Olivia Dalton, in a press release.
She assured that this measure was in preparation for many months
seeming to want to distinguish it from the American response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian ambassador denounced a rupture of the commitments of the United States, host country, within the framework of the rules applicable to foreign diplomats working at the UN. Washington, for its part, assures that it has respected these rules.
At the start of a UN Security Council meeting on the war, when Vassily Nebenzia had just announced the news to his 14 partners, the representative of the United States had confirmed the information.
Diplomats who have been asked to leave the United States have engaged in activities inconsistent with their responsibilities and obligations as diplomats
said Richard Mills, without further details.
He then asked Vassily Nebenzia, current president of his last meeting of the Security Council, to focus on the subject of the meeting, namely the humanitarian consequences of the invasion.
The Russian mission to the UN has around 100 people, according to a Russian diplomatic source.
