Russia has threatened to throw out British diplomats in response to Prime Minister Theresa May announcing the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats yesterday.

Russian news agency RIA report that Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has said expulsions would come "very soon, I promise you that".

Mr Lavrov has accused the UK of "fanning anti-Russian rhetoric bordering on hysteria" to win support from its allies. </s> Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday his country would expel British diplomats from Moscow after British Prime Minister Theresa May from the United Kingdom.

“We will, of course," Lavrov said when asked if Russia would retaliate in kind.

Russia had against the U.K. if Russian diplomats were expelled. May removed them this week after accusing Russia of carrying out a chemical attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, while in Britain.

“British Government is again seeking to launch a groundless anti-Russian campaign,” Russia's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, according to . “Needless to say, our response measures will not be long in coming."

Russia has denied any involvement in the attack against Skirpal and his daughter.

Britain, the U.S., Germany, and France all called on Russia Thursday to respond to and explain the attack. </s> Russia is to expel 60 US diplomats and has ordered the closure of the US consulate in St. Petersburg, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday, in retaliation for a similar move by Washington.

Lavrov, making the announcement in Moscow, said the US ambassador Jon Huntsman had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry to be told of the decision.

The US expelled 60 diplomats on Monday as part of a coordinated global response to the poisoning of a former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, in Britain. The British government blames Russia for using a military-grade nerve agent for the poisoning, in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.

More than 20 countries said they would expel more than 100 Russian diplomats over the case.

Russia has firmly denied responsibility and President Vladimir Putin has dismissed it as "delirium." Russia had already been engaged in a tit-for-tat with Britain, with both countries expelling 23 diplomats. </s> MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia expelled 23 British diplomats on Saturday in a carefully calibrated retaliatory move against London, which has accused the Kremlin of orchestrating a nerve toxin attack on a former Russian double agent and his daughter in southern England.

Escalating a crisis in relations, Russia said it was also shutting down the activities of the British Council, which fosters cultural links between the two countries, and Britain’s consulate-general in St. Petersburg.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was giving the 23 British diplomats one week to leave the country.

The move, which was tougher than expected, followed Britain’s decision on Wednesday to expel 23 Russian diplomats over the attack in the English city of Salisbury which left former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia Skripal, 33, critically ill in hospital.

Moscow announced the measures on the eve of a presidential election which incumbent Vladimir Putin should comfortably win. Putin has cast his country as a fortress besieged by hostile Western powers with him as its defender, and state media is likely to portray the anti-British move in that context.

The Foreign Ministry said Moscow’s measures were a response to what it called Britain’s “provocative actions and groundless accusations”. It warned London it stood ready to take further measures in the event of more “unfriendly steps”.

Relations between London and Moscow have crashed to a post-Cold War low over the Salisbury attack, the first known offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War Two.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain would consider its next steps alongside its allies in the coming days.

“We will never tolerate a threat to the life of British citizens and others on British soil from the Russian Government. We can be reassured by the strong support we have received from our friends and allies around the world,” May said at the Conservative Party’s spring forum in London.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador, Laurie Bristow, to a meeting on Saturday morning in central Moscow at its Stalin-era headquarters during which he was informed of the retaliatory measures.

Bristow told reporters afterwards that Britain had only expelled the Russian diplomats after Moscow had failed to explain how the nerve toxin had got to Salisbury.

Britain’s foreign ministry said it had anticipated Russia’s response and its priority now looking after its staff in Russia and assisting those that will return home.

“Russia’s response doesn’t change the facts of the matter – the attempted assassination of two people on British soil, for which there is no alternative conclusion other than that the Russian State was culpable.” it said in a statement.

Russia’s response was more robust than expected. The closure of the British Council’s Moscow office will sever cultural ties, while that of the consulate-general in St Petersburg will end Britain’s diplomatic presence in Russia’s second city.

Russian news agencies cited politicians in Russia’s upper house of parliament as welcoming the move to close the British Council, alleging it had been used as a cover by British spies.

The British Council said it was profoundly disappointed by Russia’s decision and remained committed to developing long-term people-to-people links with Russia despite the closure.

Russia has complained that Britain has failed to provide any evidence of its involvement in the Salisbury attack and has said it is shocked and bemused by the allegations.

Britain has escalated a war of words with Russia over the incident in recent days. On Friday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was overwhelmingly likely that Russian President Vladimir Putin himself had made the decision to use a military-grade nerve toxin to strike down Skripal.

Britain, the United States, Germany and France have jointly called on Russia to explain the attack, while U.S. President Donald Trump has said it looks as if the Russians were behind it.

Russia has said is open to cooperation with Britain, but has refused Britain’s demands to explain how Novichok, a nerve agent developed by the Soviet military, was used against the Skripals.

Skripal, a former colonel in the GRU who betrayed dozens of Russian agents to British intelligence, and his daughter have been critically ill since March 4, when they were found unconscious on a bench.

A British policeman was also poisoned when he went to help them and remains in a serious but stable condition.

Russian investigators said on Friday they had opened a criminal investigation into the attempted murder of Yulia Skripal and offered to cooperate with British authorities.

Russia offered some cooperation to British authorities after the 2006 London murder of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko too.

Britain said the assistance in that case was not enough, and in 2016, a judge-led inquiry concluded that Putin had probably approved Litvinenko’s murder, something Moscow denies </s> The Russian foreign ministry has given Britain one month to cut its entire diplomatic staff to match Russia’s own mission to the UK as the fallout following the Salisbury poisoning intensified.

The move could see scores of employees in the British embassy in Moscow and consulates in St Petersburg and Ekaterinburg dismissed from their jobs.

Laurie Bristow, Britain’s ambassador to Moscow, was summoned for talks and told to reduce staff at his embassy and the consulates to mirror the exact size of Russia’s diplomatic mission in the UK. Russia has an embassy in London and consulate in Edinburgh.

Although the Foreign Office refused to say whether this meant Russia was effectively increasing the number of diplomats it was expelling, a spokeswoman described the latest development as “regrettable” but “anticipated”.

The Russian ministry, in a statement, said it had summoned the British ambassador to the foreign ministry building and handed him a note of protest.

It said Britain's "provocative actions" had led to the decision by multiple Western governments to expel scores of Russian diplomats from their capitals. </s> Russia says Britain has one month to reduce diplomatic presence: foreign ministry

Also Russia on Friday informed the Dutch ambassador of the expulsion of two diplomats in a tit-for-tat measure over the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Britain, TASS state news agency reported.

Dutch Ambassador Renee Jones-Bos told TASS state news agency: “Two of my colleagues are leaving Moscow. But we (the embassy) are staying here.”

More so on Friday Russia government summoned European ambassadors to the foreign ministry to inform them of retaliatory measures to the expulsion of Russian diplomats over the poisoning of a former Russian double-agent in Britain.

Ambassadors from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia as well as several non-EU member countries arrived on Friday afternoon, an AFP photographer saw. </s> MOSCOW — Russia's Foreign Ministry has summoned the British ambassador to Russia for talks in a heightening dispute over a nerve agent attack on a former spy in Britain.

Russia is expected to announce the expulsion of some British diplomats in a retaliatory measure. British Prime Minister Theresa May this week ordered 23 Russian diplomats expelled as part of measures to punish Russia over the March 4 poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the city of Salisbury.

British Ambassador Laurie Bristow is expected at the Russian Foreign Ministry late Saturday morning.

Britain's foreign secretary accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of personally ordering the poisoning. Putin's spokesman denounced the claim. </s> Russia's Foreign Ministry has summoned the British ambassador to Russia for talks in a heightening dispute over a nerve agent attack on a former spy in Britain.British Prime Minister Theresa May this week ordered 23 Russian diplomats expelled as part of measures to punish Russia over the March 4 poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the city of Salisbury. Russia is expected to announce the expulsion of some British diplomats in a retaliatory measure.British Ambassador Laurie Bristow is expected at the Russian Foreign Ministry late Saturday morning.Britain's foreign secretary accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of personally ordering the poisoning. Putin's spokesman denounced the claim. </s> The Russian Foreign Ministry has proposed expelling 35 American diplomats from Russia. The plan comes as a proportional response to new U.S. sanctions against Russia for its alleged hacking of institutions related to the U.S. presidential election.

According Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's proposal, Russia should expel 31 employees of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and four employees of the General Consulate in St. Petersburg. The diplomats' names were not mentioned in the proposal.

Lavrov also proposed banning U.S. Embassy employees from using both a warehouse located on Dorozhnaya Ulitsa and a dacha in Serebryany Bor.

On Thursday, the Obama administration ejected 35 Russian intelligence operatives from the United States and imposed sanctions on Russia’s two leading intelligence services. The U.S. also sanctioned four intelligence officers who belong to the military unit Washington says ordered the hacking attacks on the Democratic National Committee and other political institutions.

Earlier today, CNN reported that Russia would close the Anglo-American School of Moscow in response to the sanctions. However, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova later denied that this was true.
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov says Russia will "definitely" expel British diplomats.