Russia set to expel 10 American diplomats in retaliation for sanctions

MOSCOW • The Russian government is set to expel 10 American diplomats and crack down on US-funded non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in retaliation for sanctions announced this week by the Biden administration.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his ministry offered what it called a suggestion - that the American ambassador temporarily return to Washington - and will bar entry to eight current and former US officials.

The response, mostly mirroring the diplomatic rebuke by the United States from the day before, suggested that the Russian government did not intend an escalation that could worsen already dismal relations between the countries.

Those relations have frayed in good part over Russian cyber attacks and interference in American elections.

US President Joe Biden had indicated that the new US sanctions would signal a harder line towards Moscow, though he left the door open for dialogue, after years of deferential treatment under the Trump administration.

Mr Lavrov called the sanctions an "absolutely unfriendly and unprovoked action".

But with the Russian response to them largely limited to the expulsions and travel bans, it appears the Kremlin does not intend to raise the diplomatic stakes and may remain open to the invitation to a summit, possibly this summer, that Mr Biden extended to President Vladimir Putin last week.

The Biden administration expelled 10 diplomats from the Russian Embassy in Washington and sanctioned 32 entities and individuals for disinformation efforts and carrying out Moscow's interference in the US presidential election last year.

Some of the US measures are aimed at making it harder for Russia to participate in the global economy if the country carries on with its harmful actions.

"I chose to be proportionate," Mr Biden said on Thursday at the White House, describing how he had warned Mr Putin of what was coming in a phone conversation on Tuesday.

"The United States is not looking to kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia. We want a stable, predictable relationship."

The statement defended the Biden administration's actions this week against Russian officials and government entities as "proportionate and appropriate to Russia's harmful activities".

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the US officials banned from entering the country included Federal Bureau of Investigation director Christopher Wray; director of national intelligence Avril Haines; Attorney-General Merrick Garland; and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Others to face an entry ban include Federal Bureau of Prisons director Michael Carvajal; Domestic Policy Council director Susan Rice; Mr John Bolton, a former national security adviser; and Mr James Woolsey, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Along with the expulsions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it would close non-governmental groups supported by the US State Department if they interfered in Russia's domestic politics, but it did not specify which organisations might be shuttered.

Also on Friday, the US Ambassador to Russia, Mr John Sullivan, was summoned to a meeting with senior Kremlin foreign policy official Yuri Ushakov and advised to return to the US for consultations.

It was not immediately clear if Mr Sullivan would leave. In the statement, his departure was presented as a suggestion, not a demand. "It's just obvious that, in this situation of extreme tension, there's an objective need for both ambassadors to be in their capitals," the statement said.

Russia recalled its ambassador to the US, Mr Anatoly Antonov, on March 21.

The Kremlin spokesman, Mr Dmitry Peskov, had said earlier on Friday that the Russian government's response should also be understood as "symmetrical", suggesting a desire to avoid escalating.

NYTIMES