The two American military attaches expelled from Russia last week were asked to do so by the Russian Foreign Ministry for making an unauthorised visit to a military factory.
According to the New York Times newspaper, the high-ranking army and navy officers visited the Novosibirsk Aviation plant, which manufactures Sukhoi-34 fighter bombers. Previously, Western media agencies reported that Russia had ordered the military attaches to leave the country in response to the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from Washington. The article, however, said American officials rejected this version.