Russia expelling 60 US diplomats

Russia will expel 60 US diplomats and shut the US consulate general in St. Petersburg in tit-for-tat retaliation for Washington's moves against Moscow over an ex-spy incident, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

US diplomats - 58 from the US embassy in Moscow and two from the US consulate in Yekaterinburg - were declared persona non grata for "activities incompatible with diplomatic status," it said in a news release.

The 60 diplomats must leave Russia by April 5, it said.