Why this round of expulsions may bring US, Russia to breaking point

It's the biggest mass expulsion of Russian diplomats from the US in history, exceeding even the most bitter episodes of the old cold war.

And, amplified by allegations of espionage, it may also represent a breaking point in what had become an increasingly fragile US-Russian relationship.

After more than a year of serial diplomatic crises, punctuated by tit-for-tat expulsions, experts say the 60 Russians being kicked out of the US amid a show of Western anti-Russian solidarity over the Skripal affair may signal the end of any functional diplomacy between the two countries. In addition to the expulsions, the US is closing Moscow’s consulate in Seattle,