Russia to retaliate for US expulsion of 12 diplomats at UN

FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova speaks during the annual news conference of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia January 14, 2022. Maxim Shipenkov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova speaks during the annual news conference of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia January 14, 2022. Maxim Shipenkov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

MOSCOW — Russia said on Tuesday it would retaliate over the U.S. expulsion of 12 of its diplomats at the United Nations for alleged spying.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the U.S. action “will not remain without a proper reaction and an answer – not necessarily symmetrical.”

The United States said on Monday the expelled diplomats were “intelligence operatives” who had been “engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our national security.”

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