Russia expels two U.S. military attaches from Moscow

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia has expelled two U.S. military attaches from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow following the ouster of a pair of Russian diplomats from the United States, the State Department said on Thursday.

A series of issues have strained U.S.-Russian relations, including Washington's view that human rights suffered under Vladimir Putin, who stepped down on Wednesday as president.

U.S. officials sought to avoid tensions over Russia's expulsions, saying they did not anticipate a U.S. response. Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested Moscow was retaliating for the expulsion of its own diplomats in recent months.

"I don't read much into the attache thing other than just the usual tit for tat," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon.

"These things get into a kind of a back and forth, and at some point everybody decides to stop," he said.

The State Department disclosed the expulsions on Thursday but shied away from drawing a link. Spokesman Sean McCormack said Russia had given the United States the reasons for the expulsions, but he declined to say what they were.

"We're not making any particular connection between the expulsion of these two individuals and any steps we might have taken," McCormack told a news briefing.

The United States asked a Russian defense official to leave Washington last month and another to leave New York in November last year, McCormack said.

NO FURTHER ACTION

McCormack told reporters that Washington considered the expulsions of Americans unjustified and reserved the right to respond. But, he added: "At this point I don't see that we are going to take any further action in response."

The relationship with Russia was very deep and broad, and "everybody feels we're able to do our diplomatic work despite these incidents," he said.

The expulsion orders for the two Americans were issued at the end of last month. McCormack said Russia had in April asked another U.S. diplomat to leave, bringing the total of diplomats affected by the recent expulsions to five -- three Americans and two Russians.

In Moscow, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman said: "We do not have any comment at the moment." The Russian Embassy in Washington also declined to provide any details, saying it never commented on the expulsion of diplomats.

Putin, who handed over power to new President Dmitry Medvedev, has taken on the role of prime minister.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Gray and Susan Cornwell, editing by Howard Goller)