Maria Zakharova accused Washington of disrupting the evacuation of Russian diplomats

The US authorities refused to accept a special aircraft for the removal of Russian diplomats and their families who were ordered to leave American territory, says Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

“Washington marked yet another step hostile to our country,” she said in a comment on the Foreign Ministry website. “The Joe Biden administration chose to completely ignore the fact that this is essentially a humanitarian action, since our plane was supposed to fly for those of our colleagues who were previously ordered by the State Department to leave the United States before the end of this month.”

Zakharova promised that "countermeasures, including those of an asymmetric nature," would follow the "defiant behavior" of the American authorities. They will be reported additionally through diplomatic channels.

• In September 2021, the State Department handed over to the Russian side a list of 55 employees of diplomatic missions who were ordered to leave the United States, said Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov. 27 employees left the country by January 30, another 28 people were supposed to do so by June 30, 2022.