Russia has expelled Bart Gorman, the No. 2 U.S. official in Moscow, the State Department said on Thursday, with Washington warning that it would respond to the “unprovoked” move amid heightened fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Gorman was forced to leave Moscow in response to what it called the “unreasonable expulsion” of a senior Russian official by Washington, accusing the United States of unleashing a “visa war.”
Gorman, who had served as U.S. deputy chief of mission, left Russia last week, a senior State Department official said. It was unclear why the expulsion was not announced until Thursday.
“Russia’s action against our DCM (deputy chief of mission) was unprovoked and we consider this an escalatory step and are considering our response,” a State Department spokesperson said.
The expulsion comes during a months-long standoff over a Russian buildup of more than 150,000 troops near its border with Ukraine.
