Trump orders 60 Russians to be expelled

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump yesterday ordered the expulsion of 60 Russians from the United States and closed the Russian consulate in Seattle in response to a nerve agent attack earlier this month in Britain, senior US officials said.

It was the toughest action that Mr Trump has taken against Russia, and followed what one of the officials called a “reckless attempt” by the Russian government on March 4 to attack former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a military-grade nerve agent.

The pair were found slumped on a bench in the southern English city of Salisbury and remain critically ill in hospital.

“To the Russian government we say: when you attack our friends, you will face serious consequences,” a senior US administration official told reporters.

Moscow has denied responsibility for the attack and has retaliated against Britain’s expulsion of 23 Russians by ordering out the same number of Britons. The Kremlin said ahead of the US announcement that it would respond in kind.

The attack was the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two, and European Union member states agreed on Friday to take additional measures against Russia. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia announced expulsions of Russians yesterday.

US officials said Russian diplomats have been abusing their diplomatic privileges in the United States and around the world.