2023-09-14 19:03:16
Kremlin – 12.07.2023
President of Russia Vladimir Putin
The Russian government announced the expulsion of two American diplomats from the country. The statement made this Thursday (14) informs that the professionals would be working with a Russian citizen who is suspected of collaborating with a foreign state.
The statement was given by the Russian Foreign Ministry. The document explains that it informed the United States envoy, Lynne Tracy, that the embassy’s first secretary, Jeffrey Sillin, and second secretary, David Bernstein, should leave the country within a period of seven days.
The Ministry said: “The named persons carried out illegal activities, maintaining contact with Russian citizen R. Shonov, accused of ‘confidential cooperation’ with a foreign state.”
According to the Russian government, Robert Shonov is a Russian citizen, and was an employee of the US Consulate General in Vladivostok, eastern Russia. He would have worked at the Consulate for around 25 years, until 2021, when the government ordered the local team to be disbanded for a North American mission.
The United States had already accused Moscow of attempted intimidation and harassment of American officials in August this year. The accusations came after Russian state media (TASS) reported that Shonov was allegedly collecting information about the war against Ukraine, to deliver to Washington.
According to the Russian press, the FBS (the country’s security service) stated that the former Consulate employee transmitted the information to employees at the North American embassy. It would be data about Russia’s recruitment campaign, and how this was affecting political discontent ahead of the country’s 2024 presidential elections.
According to the FBS, they intend to interrogate US officials, Shonov has been in prison since May this year. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Shonov had been paid to carry out the work, and that these tasks were intended to harm Russia’s national security. Furthermore, they state that any interference that the American embassy attempts in internal affairs will be repressed.
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