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•As Slovakia, Malta, Luxembourg recall ambassadors to Moscow
Russia said yesterday it would respond in kind to the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats by the West over the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in the English city of Salisbury.
What began as a row between London and Moscow after Britain accused Russia of using a nerve agent to poison Skripal and his daughter has now snowballed into an international chorus of rebuke for the Kremlin, with even some friendly governments ejecting Russian diplomats.
Adding to the list yesterday, Slovakia, Malta and Luxembourg each recalled their ambassador in Moscow for consultations, while Montenegro said it would expel a Russian diplomat. Slovakia and Montenegro, while both members of the United States-led NATO alliance, are traditionally close to Russia.
Valentina Matviyenko, a Kremlin loyalist and speaker of the upper house of parliament, said Russia would retaliate. “Without a doubt, Russia, as is diplomatic practice, will respond symmetrically and observe parity when it comes to the number of diplomats,” RIA news agency quoted her as saying.
