China News Agency, Moscow, February 17 (Reporter Tian Bing) A spokesman for the US embassy in Russia confirmed to the media that Gorman, the US deputy ambassador to Russia, has been expelled by Russia.

As of press time, the Russian Foreign Ministry has not commented.

　　The US embassy in Russia stated that Gorman is the second most important person in charge of the embassy and one of the main members of the embassy leadership team.

According to information on Gorman on the official website of the US embassy in Russia, as a senior career diplomat, Gorman is responsible for "key aspects of US-Russian relations."

　　The U.S. embassy believes that Russia's move to expel U.S. diplomats is groundless.

The U.S. embassy said, "It is more important than ever that we both have sufficient numbers in our respective diplomatic missions to facilitate dialogue and engagement between the two governments. Russia's behavior has led to the current U.S. The size of the mission in Russia is significantly smaller than that of the Russian mission in the United States.”

　　The Russian deputy ambassador to the United States recently left the United States as part of a "rotation" because his visa expired in January, the embassy said.

Gorman's term as deputy ambassador has not yet ended, he holds a valid visa and has been in Russia for less than three years.

The United States believes that Russia's move is to put pressure on the United States, and the United States is studying possible response measures.

　　Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova announced at a regular press conference on December 1 last year that the staff of the US embassy in Russia who have worked in Moscow for more than three years must leave the country before January 31 this year.

　　Zakharova emphasized that this choice was not made by Russia, but a "game" imposed on Russia by the United States.

In 2020, the U.S. State Department unilaterally imposed a three-year limit on the duration of residence of the staff of the Russian embassy and consulates in the United States, and required that Russian diplomats who have left the United States or who are about to leave the United States should not return to the Russian diplomatic mission in the United States for three years. The U.S. grants five-year residency to staff members of foreign diplomatic missions.

　　Russian Ambassador to the United States Antonov previously told the media that more than 50 Russian diplomats will leave the United States in two batches in January and June 2022 due to being "expelled" by the United States.

　　In April last year, the US announced large-scale sanctions against Russia and expelled Russian diplomats, citing Russia's alleged "cyber attack and interference in the US election".

Russia then took countermeasures and added it to the list of countries unfriendly to Russia, prohibiting the US embassy in Russia from hiring local staff.

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