Russia expels two U.S. diplomats following altercation outside American embassy in Moscow

Russia on Saturday said its expelled two Americans in connection with an incident last month outside the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

The expulsions, revealed through the Russian Federation’s foreign ministry website, were announced one day after State Department spokesman John Kirby said that two Russian officials had recently been expelled from the U.S. in response to the same June 6 altercation in downtown Moscow.

According to the State Department, “an accredited U.S. diplomat” was assaulted by a Russian security guard upon returning to the embassy in a taxi cab last month. Russian officials blamed the attack on the American, however, and said the diplomat was actually an undercover CIA operative.

The State Department responded by expelling two Russians from Washington on June 17, Mr. Kirby said during a press conference Friday. Less than 24 hours later, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced it has taken similar action against two Americans, including the supposed CIA spy involved in the embassy incident.

Russia has labeled the two unnamed Americans “persona non grata for activities incompatible with their diplomatic status,” according to Saturday’s statement.

“We hope that they in Washington will realize all the viciousness of the aggressive anti-Russia line. If they decide there to move on the path of escalation, they won’t be left without a response,” the foreign ministry said, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

The June 6 incident outside Moscow’s U.S. Embassy was first reported by the Washington Post, and was quickly called into question by Russian officials.

“Instead of the CIA employee, who was in disguise, as we understand, it could have been anyone - a terrorist, an extremist, a suicide bomber,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in the aftermath of the Post report.

“Instead of letting the (Russian) officer see his ID, the man hit him with an elbow in the face than (sic) pushed him away and fled to the embassy,” Ms. Zakharova said, according to state-run media.

Surveillance-video footage aired by Russian television in recent days have since raised questions about the foreign ministry’s narrative and appears to show a security guard assaulting an individual immediately as that person approaches the embassy.

“The Russian claim that the policeman was protecting the embassy from an unidentified individual is simply untrue,” Mr. Kirby said Friday.

“We are extremely troubled by the way our employees have been treated over the past couple of years and we’ve raised those concerns at the highest levels,” he told reporters, according to the Associated Press. “Harassment and surveillance of our diplomatic personnel in Moscow by security personnel and by traffic police have increased significantly and we find this absolutely unacceptable.”