>
Article snippet: The White House vowed Thursday to "deal with" Russia's decision this week to expel dozens of American diplomats, declaring the move a "further deterioration" in relations between the two countries. "reserve the right to respond" to the move. Exactly what action the U.S. could take to push back on the latest move from Russia is unclear. Still, the warnings underscore the deepening tensions between Washington and Moscow after Russia was blamed for the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter with a military-grade nerve agent on British soil earlier this month. Trump announced on Monday that the U.S. would kick out 60 Russian officials believed to be intelligence agents and shutter the Russian consulate in Seattle in retaliation for the poisonings. Two dozen other countries also expelled Russian diplomats. The Russian government has denied any role in the poisonings in the U.K., and has accused the U.S. of running a "colossal blackmail" campaign against Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced a response to the expulsions of Russian officials on Thursday, saying that 60 American diplomats would be booted out of Russia and that the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg would be closed. Other countries that expelled Russian diplomats, he said, would face similar measures from Moscow. The diplomatic tit for tat put on display the rising tensions between Russia and the West at a time when many officials in Europe and the U.S. are under pressure to c... Link to the full article to read more