MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday Moscow would expel 60 US diplomats and close its consulate in Saint Petersburg in a tit-for-tat expulsion over the poisoning of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal.
Lavrov said that the US ambassador had been informed of "retaliatory measures", saying that "they include the expulsion of the equivalent number of diplomats and our decision to withdraw permission for the functioning of the US consulate general in Saint Petersburg". Washington earlier ordered the expulsion of 60 diplomats and shut down the Russian consulate general in Seattle.
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Russia to expel 60 US diplomats, close a US consulate: Lavrov
Russia to expel 60 US diplomats, close a US consulate: Lavrov
China envoy visits Cambodia seeking to de-escalate fighting with Thailand
- US and China renew efforts to bring the two countries to a ceasefire,
BANGKOK: China’s special envoy for Asian affairs visited Phnom Penh this week to push for Cambodia and Thailand to de-escalate their fierce border fighting, Cambodia’s foreign ministry said on Saturday. Deng Xijun’s visit comes as the US and China renew efforts to bring the two countries to a ceasefire, ahead of a special meeting on Monday of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Around 60 people have died and more than half a million have been displaced since the two nations resumed hostilities, ending a ceasefire that Donald Trump had brokered in July. “Deng Xijun reaffirmed that China will continue to play a constructive role in facilitating dialogue between Cambodia and Thailand with a view to promoting the peaceful settlement of disputes,” the ministry said in a statement. Secretary of State Rubio told reporters on Friday the US was cautiously optimistic that Thailand and Cambodia could be back in compliance with the ceasefire by early next week.
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