Russia Expels US Deputy Chief of Mission | Farsnews Agency

(FNA)- Russia has expelled US deputy chief of diplomatic mission Bart Gorman from the country, the US Embassy announced on Thursday.

Washington considers the move unjustified as the official had a three-year visa and his stay in Russia hadn’t exceeded three years, the embassy said, emphasising that the United States would respond to Gorman’s expulsion, RIA Novosti reported.

The expulsion of Gorman comes a month after Washington told Russian diplomats at the Embassy in the United States to leave the country. The US State Department explained the decision by saying that more than 50 diplomats and their families had to leave due to expiring visas. Moscow, in turn, called the move an expulsion.

The news comes amid ongoing tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine, which has seen the United States and its allies accuse Moscow of planning an invasion of Ukraine, a claim the Kremlin has rejected as absurd and false. The two sides also have disagreements over a number of issues, including security demands Russia issued late last year.