Russian foreign ministry: over 50 British diplomats to be expelled

More than 50 British diplomats are to leave Russia apart from those 23 whose expulsion was announced previously, Russian Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Maria Zakharova has announced.

She reminded that after the poisoning of former GRU colonel Sergei Skripal London expelled 23 Russian diplomats. After that London “carried out a campaign aimed at expelling Russian diplomats from EU and some other countries,” Zakharova added.

In response, Moscow claimed that the UK cuts twice the staff at the embassy in Moscow and consulates general so that it corresponds with the number of Russian diplomats and administrative staff in the UK.

“In other words, we offer parity. The difference between the number of workers is over 50 people for the British side,” Zakharova posted in Facebook. 

To remind, after accusing Moscow of poisoning Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, London expelled 23 Russian diplomats and announced other anti-Russian measures. In response, Russia expelled the same number of workers of the British embassy, told to close the consulate general in St. Petersburg and suspend activity of the British Council in Russia.

As EADaily reported earlier, now the UK government is considering closing the Russian trade mission in London which in some British media is called a “den of spies.”