Powell Holds out Possibility of US Response to Russian ExpulsionsSecretary of State Colin Powell on Friday held out the possibility of a US response to Russia's expulsion of 50 American diplomats, which came in retaliation for Washington's earlier expulsion of 50 Russians.Although both President George W. Bush and Powell have said they consider the espionage row to be finished, Powell said that status depended on the exact nature of the Russian response. "We have not received anything from them yet in the way of names and details, so it would be inappropriate and not useful to comment on what might happen if the response seems not to be appropriate or out of proportion or balance in some way," Powell said. "We are anxious to get this matter behind us and at this point, as of this afternoon, we still consider it a matter that is behind us, but we haven't seen the totality of the Russian response yet," he told a small group of reporters at the State Department. Earlier Friday, US officials confirmed that Russia, which announced it was expelling four American diplomats immediately, had in fact ordered an additional 46 to go as well by July 1. The total, 50, mirrors the number of Russian diplomats ordered expelled from the United States on Thursday^Powell declined to offer specific numbers about the Russian response, but said he had been told "in a rather direct way that it would probably be in exact proportions." |
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