MOSCOW/WASHINGTON: Russia said on Thursday it was expelling British defence attache Adrian Coghill in retaliation for Britain’s announcement it was kicking out his Russian counterpart last week.
Russia’s response was announced in a Foreign Ministry statement which said it would also take further unspecified steps.
“Our reaction to the unfriendly anti-Russian actions of the British side announced on May 8 does not end with this measure. The initiators of the escalation will be informed about further retaliatory steps,” the ministry said.
On May 8 Britain announced that it would expel the Russian military attaché Maxim Yelovik, remove diplomatic status from some properties and limit the length of Russian diplomatic visas in response to what interior minister James Cleverly called Moscow’s “malign activity”.
Meanwhile, the United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on two Russian individuals and three Russian companies for facilitating arms transfers between Russia and North Korea, including ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine, the Treasury Department said on Thursday.
It is the latest round of sanctions imposed by the Treasury and State departments to disrupt and expose arms transfers between the two countries, it said, including the transfer and testing of North Korean-produced ballistic missiles to Russia.
“Today’s action reflects our commitment to disrupt the DPRK’s (Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea) deepening military cooperation with Russia,” Brian Nelson, the under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.
“The United States will continue to take action to hold accountable those who seek to facilitate the shipment of weapons and other materiel to enable Russia’s war,” Nelson added.
(REUTERS)
