White House Hits Russia on Expelling US Diplomats

The White House said Thursday that Russia's expelling of 60 American diplomats marked "a further deterioration in the United States-Russia relationship."

"Russia's response was not unanticipated, and the United States will deal with it," the administration said in a statement from press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin would expel the diplomats and close the American consulate in St. Petersburg after the U.S. joined European Union nations and Britain over a nerve-agent attack in England.

"The expulsion of undeclared Russian intelligence officers by the United States and more than two dozen partner nations and NATO allies earlier this week was an appropriate response to the Russian attack on the soil of the United Kingdom," the statement from Sanders said.

• WH: Nerve Agent Attack in England 'Reckless, Irresponsible'
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