Moscow, 17 March. - (ANA) - Russia has expelled 23 British diplomats in a tit-for-tat response that further escalates global tensions over the Salisbury poisoning incident.

 

The move came on Saturday morning after Theresa May kicked out 23 Russian diplomats who she claimed were undeclared intelligence officers.

 

Relations between Westminster and Moscow soured after the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33.

 

Moscow summoned Britain’s ambassador Laurie Bristow on Saturday to tell him of the expulsions.

 

Moscow is also closing the British Council, which promotes British culture internationally, in Russia.

 

It also said it would withdraw permission for a British consulate to open in St Petersburg.

 

Speaking to journalists as he left, Bristow said the UK would “always do what is necessary to defend ourselves, our allies and our values against an attack of this sort”.

 

 

The diplomats have a week to leave.

 

A bitter war or words has erupted after Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson suggested Russia should “go away and shut up”.

 

Moscow’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, dismissed the “bombastic remarks”, suggesting Williamson “lacks education”.

 

 

Lavrov added: “Theresa May’s ‘highly likely’ is the main argument supporting the Russia blame game and his would be ‘Russia should go away and shut up’.

 

“Maybe he lacks education, I don’t know.”

 

Russia’s ambassador in London, Alexander Yakovenko, said Williamson’s comments were part of a “shocking” political culture.

 

He told RT television: “I have some reservations about the political culture, in the way discussion is going on and the way the minister of defence is putting his views.

 

“It is quite surprising for us, but this is the new reality in the new political culture in the United Kingdom.

 

“For the Russian ear, and the ear of any diplomat in the world, it is a little bit shocking.

 

“But when you live here in London for a while, you can get used to this.”

 

Yakovenko added that the Government is using the Salisbury poisoning case to divert attention from Brexit.

 

“There is one more reason for diverting the attention of the British public, which is Brexit, because the situation in negotiations is not so easy … In order to divert attention from Brexit, they have to present something to the public that could move a little bit to the other side.

 

“That’s a great possibility to launch this anti-Russian campaign. This is a scenario that was written in London but it’s a short-sighted scenario because, in the long run, Britain will have to explain what is behind all these things in Salisbury.”

 

The Skripals were poisoned with a military grade agent that was made in Soviet-era Russia.

 

Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel all signed a joint declaration calling the poisoning the “first offensive use” of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War.

 

They called it an “assault on UK sovereignty” and a “clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law”.

 

But Russia has dismissed the accusation and demanded to see samples of the nerve agent that was used.

 

Speaking at an election campaign event in Moscow on Thursday night, Russian president Vladimir Putin said Russia was a “proud” nation “and will be in the future, too”.

 

He met with his security council on Thursday to consider UK-Russia relations.  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/17 March 2018 - - -