Russia told the United States yesterday to withdraw 50 diplomats from Moscow by the summer, in retaliation for the 50 Russian diplomats told to leave the US. But Washington said it wanted to close the book on expulsions, indicating that it would not retaliate in turn.
The US President, Mr George Bush, said he thought Moscow would understand that the US did the right thing in expelling the Russian diplomats, in the wake of the arrest, on charges of spying for Russia, of the FBI agent Robert Hanssen. The expulsions should not prevent a meeting between him and President Vladimir Putin, he said.
"They'll just understand that my administration is one that takes firm positions . . . when we think we're right - and that doesn't preclude the ability, for example, for Mr Putin and me to meet at some point in time and have a good honest discussion about common interests," he told reporters in Maine.
He said Washington told Russia to withdraw the diplomats only because of the Hanssen case and because the Russian intelligence presence in the US was too large.
Russia declared four US diplomats personae non gratae, meaning they have to leave the country within days, and told the US to withdraw 46 others by the summer, according to a US official, who asked not to be named.
Denis Staunton adds from Stockholm:
President Putin yesterday sought to play down his country's spying row with the US. Speaking in Stockholm, where he met EU leaders during their summit, the Russian President said he did not expect the dispute to have a lasting impact on relations between Moscow and Washington.
The cordial welcome extended towards Mr Putin in Stockholm contrasted sharply with the chill that has entered Russia's relationship with the US. The EU leaders praised the Russian leader's economic reforms and agreed to lend Moscow up to 100 million euros for pollution clean-up projects.
The EU's External Relations Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, acknowledged that the EU and the US had different attitudes towards Russia. "One difference is geography. We share a continent with Russia and, with enlargement, we'll share an even longer border. We want to see economic reform succeed in Russia," he said.
The EU leaders questioned Mr Putin on his government's actions in Chechnya, and the Swedish Prime Minister, Mr Goran Persson, called on him to enter into a dialogue with the rebels.