Expelled US diplomats leave Russia: Reports
Russia, US relations nose-dive on spy row
US diplomats were seen leaving the US embassy in Moscow on Thursday morning
US diplomats expelled by Russia over the poisoning of a former spy in Britain were seen leaving the US embassy in Moscow on Thursday morning to make their way to the airport, the TASS news agency reported.
Russia expelled 60 US diplomats one week ago and ordered the closure of the US consulate in St Petersburg in retaliation for Washington's expulsion of the same number of Russian diplomats and closure of Russia's consulate in Seattle.
The US move was part of a much wider Western response to the nerve agent poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in an English city, a crime Britain blamed on Russia, which denies wrongdoing.
TASS reported that three coaches believed to be carrying departing diplomats were seen leaving the US embassy in central Moscow on Thursday morning to head for the airport.
Russia expelled 58 diplomats from the US embassy in Moscow and two from the US consulate in the city of Yekaterinburg.