MOSCOW. Sept 14 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy on Thursday and informed her about Russia's decision to declare two employees of the U.S. embassy personae non-gratae, the ministry said in a statement on its website.
"The chief of the U.S. embassy in Moscow, Lynne Tracy, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on September 14, where she was issued a strong demarche and presented with an official note regarding the incompatibility of actions of First Secretary Jeff Sillin and Second Secretary David Bernstein of the U.S. embassy with their diplomatic status," the ministry said.
"Those persons were involved in illegal activity by maintaining contact with Russian citizen Shonov, charged with 'confidential cooperation' with a foreign state, who was given orders aimed at damaging national security of the Russian Federation in exchange for remuneration," the ministry said.
"The U.S. ambassador was informed that Jeff Sillin and David Bernstein must leave the Russian territory within seven days due to their status of personae non-gratae," the ministry said.
"The illegal activity of the U.S. diplomatic mission, including interference in the internal affairs of the country of presence, is inadmissible and will be resolutely put to a stop," the ministry said.
"The Russian side expects Washington to draw the right conclusions and to abstain from confrontational steps," it said.
Later on Thursday, the U.S. embassy released a statement saying, "We completely reject the basis for this unprovoked expulsion of our diplomatic personnel."
"The United States regrets that the Russian Federation has, yet again, chosen confrontation and escalation over constructive diplomatic engagement," the statement said.
The U.S. will respond "appropriately," it said.
As reported, Robert Shonov, an employee of the U.S. consulate general in Vladivostok, was detained in connection with gathering information about mobilization, the progress of the special military operation, and protests in Russia, on the orders of diplomats from the U.S. embassy's political affairs department.
He was charged with confidentially cooperating with a foreign state.
According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), between September 2022 and the moment he was detained, Shonov received remuneration for "fulfilling assignments from Jeffrey Sillin and David Bernstein, employees of the political affairs department at the U.S. embassy in Moscow. He was tasked with gathering information about the progress of the special military operation, mobilization processes in Russian regions, and related problems, and assessing their influence on popular protests ahead of the election of the president of the Russian Federation in 2024".
The FSB said it planned "to question the aforementioned U.S. diplomats, and in this connection respective summons have been sent to the U.S. embassy in Moscow".
The U.S. Department of State condemned the arrest of the former employee of the U.S. consulate general in Vladivostok and called the charges unfounded.