Russia has accused the US of using its aid agency in Moscow to covertly influence the country’s politics and elections, explaining its decision to expel the mission amid a wider crackdown on the opposition movement.
The Russian government has given the US agency for international development (USAid) until 1 October to cease all operations in the country. The agency helps fund a number of pro-democracy and human rights groups that have provoked the Kremlin’s wrath amid an unprecedented opposition movement against the Russian president,Vladimir Putin.
In an uncharacteristically blunt statement, the Russian foreign ministry said that the decision to shut USAid was taken primarily because the agency’s work “does not always correspond to [its] stated goals”.