US Reluctant to Consider Russia as Partner, French FMFrench Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said Friday that the new US government has not come to consider Russia as partner, reported Agence France-Presse.The US government of President George W. Bush is reluctant to say "partner", a word used frequently by former US President Bill Clinton when referring to Russia, said Vedrine in an interview with French television RTL. The interview came shortly after Washington's action to expel Russian diplomats.The U.S. State Department on Thursday formally announced to expel four Russian diplomats who are accused of spying for Moscow. It also said that another 46 Russia diplomats are expected to leave by July for the same reason. In response, Russia said it will give a similar announcement on Friday, which might be about the details of whether it will expel an equal number of US diplomats. Observers said that the expulsions mark the most serious spy row between the US and Russia since the end of the Cold War. |
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