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Russia Ramps up Diplomatic Clash, Expels More UK Diplomats

Russia orders new cuts in the number of British diplomats, escalating a diplomatic war with the West over the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain.

Russia ordered new cuts Friday in the number of British envoys in the country, escalating a dispute with the West over the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain. The massive expulsion of diplomats on both sides has reached a scale unseen even at the height of the Cold War.
Two dozen countries, including the U.S. and many EU nations, and NATO ordered out more than 150 Russian diplomats this week in a show of solidarity with Britain over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter that London blamed on Russia.
Moscow has vehemently denied involvement in the nerve agent attack and announced Thursday that it would expel the same number of diplomats from each nation.
The Russian Foreign Ministry further escalated its response Friday, saying it has ordered Britain to reduce the number of its diplomats in Moscow to the level that Russia has in London. That exact number wasn't immediately clear.
The ministry said it summoned the British ambassador to hand him a protest over the "provocative and unsubstantiated actions by Britain, which instigated the expulsion of Russian diplomats from various nations for no reason." It gave London one month to reduce its diplomatic personnel in Russia.
Commenting on the Russian move, a spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office said "it's regrettable but in light of Russia's previous behaviour, we anticipated a response."
"However, this 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," she said. "Russia is in flagrant breach of international law and the Chemical Weapons Convention and actions by countries around the world have demonstrated the depth of international concern."

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