Twitter slams expulsion of Russian diplomats on day of mourning 64 deaths in Siberia
Twitter is reacting to news that US and other countries will expel Russian diplomats, with many calling the move insensitive on a day when Russia is mourning the deaths of 64 people after a devastating shopping mall fire.
The Trump administration announced on Monday that, in addition to expelling 60 Russian diplomats from the US, it will also shutter the Russian consulate in Seattle in response to an alleged chemical attack in Britain which Prime Minister Theresa May has blamed on Moscow.
Journalists have criticized the US and EU for their insensitivity in coordinating the announcement of expulsions on a day when all of Russia is mourning after a devastating fire killed 64 people, many of them children, at a shopping center in the Siberian city of Kemerovo.
These expulsions to be announced at a complicated moment. All of Russia is looking at the Kemerovo fire. https://t.co/A1Yuqw6vHl
— Andrew Roth (@Andrew__Roth) 26 марта 2018 г.
I hated making any comments about this UK-Russia spat over alleged poisoning, but massive expulsion of Russian diplomats by the US and the EU on a day when the entire country is in a state of shock and is mourning deaths of dozens of kids who perished yday is impossible to fathom
— Yury Barmin (@russia_mideast) 26 марта 2018 г.
Worth stressing this again as Russia today is in mourning over a genuine human tragedy. US and Europe probably should have waited on the coordinated diplomat expulsions. https://t.co/PP65HuxWv1
— Matthew Bodner (@mattb0401) 26 марта 2018 г.
The day when over 60 people -including 40 children are killed in a shopping mall blaze in Russia is ‘Happy International expel a Russian diplomat day’. https://t.co/CxslSHHQ6Z
— Neil Clark (@NeilClark66) March 26, 2018
The US, Germany, Poland and others picked the wrong day to announce Russian diplomat expulsions.
— Sam Greene (@samagreene) 26 марта 2018 г.
It would have been powerful and diplomatic (and sent strong signal to normal Russians) if these coordinated expulsions were delayed by a day or two given the tragedy that took place in Russia today.
— Ola Cichowlas (@olacicho) March 26, 2018
Key thing being the signal it sends to Russians who aren't poisoners or hackers or interferers but are watching and do have feelings. https://t.co/6eykY0bjCD
— David Filipov (@davidfilipov) March 26, 2018
While some have applauded Trump’s decision, others have called out the US for the aggressive decision taken against Russia, despite the lack of evidence that would show Moscow was in fact behind the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK in early March.
The latest aggressive move vs Russia by this admin - e.g. arming Ukraine, increasing US/NATO forces on Russia’s borders, expanding NATO, clashing in Syria. But what matters is that Trump won’t say bad things about Putin & that an ex-UK spy paid by Dems claims there’s a pee tape. https://t.co/NGfagulGWg
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) 26 марта 2018 г.
The mass expulsion or Russian diplomats from Western countries has been undertaken not in response to the #Skripal case, for which no evidence of Russian state culpability has been provided, but in response to Moscow's refusal to bow to Western hegemony. #RussianDiplomats
— John Wight (@JohnWight1) 26 марта 2018 г.
Some tweeters pointed out that Trump’s move to expel diplomats and close the Seattle consulate indicates that the president is not in fact “colluding” with Russia, despite months of accusations to that effect and ongoing investigation into those allegations.
US to expel 60 Russian intelligence officers and order Russia to close its consulate in Seattle. Retaliation for attempted murder of former spy living in UK. Now, remind what hold Putin has over Trump?
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) 26 марта 2018 г.
More proof that the Putin controls the White House. That may seem counterintuitive to some of you sane folks, but that's because you don't understand inscrutable Russians and their 99-dimensional chess game https://t.co/z5azA4xUOc
— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) 26 марта 2018 г.
There was also some concern that Trump’s decision would have negative consequences for ordinary Russian people living in the US. Closing the Seattle consulate will mean thousands of Russian citizens will be forced to make cross-country trips to carry out basic administrative tasks. The Russian consulate in San Francisco was shuttered by the Trump administration in October 2017.
the US closing the Russian consulate in Seattle is a devastating move for any Russian citizens living in the US, including people who immigrated to the US in the 90s and earlier
— Greg Afinogenov (@athenogenes) 26 марта 2018 г.
Seemingly willing to make any piece of news fit their narrative, some members of the anti-Trump ‘Resistance’ managed to twist Trump’s latest anti-Russia action into yet more proof that their president is secretly colluding with the Russians — even going as far as suggesting that Trump received the go-ahead to expel Russian diplomats from Vladimir Putin himself.
Smart move by Putin to order Trump to expel 60 Russian diplomats. Gotta love that KGB psy ops training.
— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) 26 марта 2018 г.
Trump just expelled 60 Russian diplomats. Probably the ones he doesn't want Mueller talking to.
— Morrigan Jonsdottir (@Miss_Fedelm) 26 марта 2018 г.
So, now 60 Russian diplomats have been expelled from the U.S. as a response to the poisoning in the UK, yet trump still won’t condemn the attacks or Putin himself. Sounds to me like that phone call last week was simply for Putin to give his puppet names of who can be expelled.
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) 26 марта 2018 г.
