ACCESSION
NUMBER:328949
FILE ID:POL106
DATE:02/28/94
TITLE:STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28 (02/28/94)
TEXT:*94022806.POL
STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28
(U.S.-Russia) (270)
NEWS BRIEFING -- Spokesman Michael McCurry discussed the following topic:
U.S. PROTESTS RUSSIAN RETALIATORY EXPULSION OF U.S. DIPLOMAT
The United States has "protested in the strongest possible terms the
expulsion from Russia of a U.S. embassy officer" in apparent retaliation
for the U.S. expulsion of a Russian embassy officer, McCurry said.
He said the February 25 expulsion of the Russian from the United States "was
an entirely justified action in light of the involvement of the Russian
intelligence service in the Ames espionage case. By contrast, the
expulsion of the U.S. diplomat from Moscow is purely an act of unjustified
retaliation."
Asked whether the U.S. government interprets reports of Russian President
Boris Yeltsin's firing of his counterintelligence chief as being related to
the Ames case, McCurry replied, "We have no interpretation of that because
we frankly don't know."
The spokesman said Nikolay Golushko had been "removed from his post by
presidential decree without explanation. We do not know why President
Yeltsin dropped Golushko. The only thing we know about him is that he was
appointed last September as minister of national security and then head of
counterintelligence in December when the national security ministry was
abolished."
Asked about the Russian role in the ongoing Mideast peace talks, McCurry
said they "are a valued cosponsor of the peace process, adding "I think
that they will continue to play the role that they've played" in these
talks so far "in the discussions here in Washington."
NNNN
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
