Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Moscow will expel British diplomats from the country. Britain this week expelled 23 staff at the Russian embassy over a nerve-agent attack on British soil.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday Russia would order British diplomats to leave the country in response to London’s decision to expel 23 staff at the Russian embassy in London.
Lavrov made the comment in answer to a question by a Reuters reporter as to whether Moscow would retaliate with expulsions of its own.
“We will, of course,” Lavrov replied, without giving more details.
This comes as the UK continues to accuse Russia of being behind a nerve-agent attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in the southern English city of Salisbury on March 4.
The incident has poisoned UK-Russian relations
Continued denial
Russia insists it was not involved, despite Britain’s assertion that the nerve agent was one first produced in the former Soviet Union.
Lavrov said Moscow had stopped paying attention to Britain over the spy poisoning allegations. He also said that British Defense Minister Gavin Williamson, who earlier told Russia to “go away and shut up,” may lack education.
In a new development, the newspaper The Telegraph , citing unidentified sources, said the toxin used in the attack had been planted in Yulia Skripal’s suitcase before she left Moscow.
The paper said investigators were looking into whether an item of clothing, cosmetics or a gift that was opened in Sergei Skripal’s house in Salisbury may have been impregnated with the poison.
The Skripals and a police officer who attended the scene remain in hospital in a critical condition.
For more read the full of article at The DW
