Russia to retaliate soon against UK with its own diplomat expulsions
March 15, 2018  23:04
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Tensions between London and Moscow over the attempted murder of a former Russian spy ratcheted up another level Thursday after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that a move to expel British diplomats from Russia would "absolutely" be going ahead.

Speaking at a question-and-answer forum in Moscow, Lavrov did not provide a time frame but said the expulsions would take place "soon," state media reported.

The move follows Britain's decision Wednesday to kick 23 Russian diplomats out of the country after concluding that Russia was responsible for a nerve agent attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England earlier this month.

It will be the single biggest expulsion of Russian diplomats from Britain in more than 30 years, Prime Minister Theresa May announced Wednesday, as she set out a raft of measures intended to target Russian assets and strengthen UK defenses.

On Thursday, Lavrov accused May of grandstanding in her response to the incident, and said the Kremlin response would "come very soon."

"You understand that as polite people, we will first inform our British colleagues of the response. Unlike them, grabbing the microphone in order to accuse Russia of everything," Lavrov said.

A spokesman for Vladimir Putin described the UK's accusations as "unfounded" and said "it won't be long until" the Russian President makes a decision on retaliatory measures.
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