Russia: 60 deportations and padlock at the US consulate in St. Petersburg

Russia's foreign ministry says it has described 58 US diplomats in Moscow and two others serving in the US Consulate General in Yekaterinburg as "undesirable".

US diplomats are due to leave Russia by April 5.

The US Consulate General in St. Petersburg, which will be closed as part of the countermeasures taken by Russia, will have to suspend its operation within the next two days.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said US Ambassador to Moscow John Huntsman had been summoned to the ministry where he was briefed on the measures by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

Russia has also warned that it will take additional countermeasures if Washington continues its "hostile actions" against Russian diplomatic missions.

He noted that the threat of seizure of Russian assets in the United States would lead to a "serious deterioration" in relations between the two countries and undermine global stability.

As for the other countries that have deported Russian diplomats, Lavrov said that Moscow's response "will be the same for all in terms of the number of people who will leave Russia." In all, more than 140 Russian diplomats from Europe, North America, Ukraine and Australia have been deported in recent days.

Earlier in the week, the United States deported 60 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity with Britain, which claims Moscow was responsible for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury.

Russia has repeatedly stressed that it is not involved in the case and accuses London of "not wanting to hear" its answers.

"Russia's reaction was not unexpected and the US will face it"

Moscow's decision to deport 60 US diplomats marks a further deterioration in US-Russia bilateral relations, but was not an "unexpected" move, the White House said in a statement, adding that Washington would "address" the issue. .

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