U.S. expels two Russian officials in response to alleged attack on U.S. diplomat

The United States expelled two Russian officials on June 17 in response to an attack on U.S. diplomat in Moscow, State Department spokesman John Kirby said Friday.

Kirby did not provide further details about the expulsion.

On June 6, an accredited U.S. diplomat, who identified himself in accordance with embassy protocols entering the American Embassy compound in Moscow, was attacked by a Russian policeman, Kirby said at a regular press briefing.

"The action was unprovoked and it endangered the safety of our employee," he said, adding that "the Russian claim that the policeman was protecting the embassy from an unidentified individual is simply untrue."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that video of the incident actually showed the U.S. diplomat attacking a Russian police officer, according to a Russian media report.

The U.S. State Department said last month that the harassment and surveillance of American diplomats in Moscow by security personnel have "increased significantly" over the past two years.

(APD)