Russia warns U.S. ambassador it will expel diplomats who meddle in its internal affairs

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday it had summoned Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador in Moscow, to warn her it would expel U.S. diplomats it deems to be interfering in its internal affairs.

Moscow issued the warning ahead of a March 15-17 presidential election, which President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s paramount leader for over 20 years, is certain to win bar an unexpected development.

The foreign ministry said in a statement it would look out for what it called “subversive actions and the spread of information” related to the election and what the Kremlin calls its special military operation in Ukraine.

It said such behaviour would be “firmly and resolutely suppressed, up to and including the expulsion as ‘persona non grata’ of United States Embassy staff involved in such actions.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy said they had no immediate comment.

The foreign ministry also demanded that the U.S. Embassy cease supporting three American nonprofits that it said were running “anti-Russian programmes” in the country aimed at “recruiting ‘agents of influence’ under the guise of educational and cultural exchanges.”