Three buses believed to be carrying expelled American diplomats have departed from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
Before the Thursday morning departure, journalists outside the embassy compound saw people leaving the residences, placing luggage on trucks. Some carried pet-carriers.
Their departure is the result of a row over the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in the UK.
Buses believed to be carrying expelled diplomats prepare to leave the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Thursday
A bus believed to be carrying expelled diplomats leaves the U.S. Embassy in Moscow – Russia last week ordered 60 American diplomats to leave the country by Thursday, in retaliation for the United States expelling the same number of Russians
Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench in the city of Salisbury last month. Britain alleges Russian involvement, which Moscow vehemently denies.
Russia has meanwhile called for urgent UN Security Council talks on the spiraling diplomatic crisis sparked by the spy poisoning scandal.
On Wednesday it convened a meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) but was unable to get the required two-thirds of votes from members to approve a joint investigation into the incident.
Six countries voted in favour of the Russian draft motion but 15 were against while 17 abstained, mainly countries from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
Moscow last week ordered 60 American diplomats to leave the country by Thursday in retaliation for the United States expelling the same number of Russians.
More than 150 diplomats have been expelled by Britain and its allies, and Russia has ordered reciprocal moves.
It is the biggest wave of expulsions between Russia and the West in recent memory and has seen relations plunge to new post-Cold War lows
The American flag has been removed from the US consulate in St. Petersburg, days after the Kremlin announced its shut down
Busses believed to be carrying expelled diplomats leave the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Thursday
Russia’s consulate in Seattle (pictured) will be closed, but the total size of Russia’s diplomatic footprint in the US might not shrink for long, because the expelled staff could be replaced
On Saturday, moving trucks pulled into the front of the US consulate in St Petersburg morning as the American flag was taken down, following the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s announcement of its closure.
The consulate’s employees were given until 10pm (7pmGMT) to leave, while the residence must be vacated by the end of April, according to the Interfax news agency.
It is the biggest wave of expulsions between Russia and the West in recent memory and has seen relations plunge to new post-Cold War lows.
On Tuesday, The chief executive of Britain’s Porton Down defense laboratory says that while its scientists have identified the nerve agent used they have not verified its ‘precise source.’
A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry says Britain’s failure to track down the source, shows that the accusations against Russia have been based merely on baseless suspicion.