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Spy poisoning: Russian diplomats expelled across US and Europe | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The United States and its European allies are expelling dozens of Russian diplomats in a co-ordinated response to the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the UK. | |
US President Donald Trump has ordered 60 Russian diplomats to leave the country. | |
Germany, France, Ukraine and various other EU countries have made the same move. | |
Russia has indicated it will respond "proportionately". | |
Russia denies any role in the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, southern England. The pair remain in a critical but stable condition in hospital. | |
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the EU for its "perverted interpretation of solidarity" with the UK. | |
EU leaders agreed last week it was highly likely Russia was behind the nerve-agent poisoning. | |
In the US, 48 of the envoys to be expelled are said to be based at the Russian embassy in Washington and the others are at the UN in New York. | |
It will also order the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle. | |
The US state department said in a statement: "On March 4, Russia used a military-grade nerve agent to attempt to murder a British citizen and his daughter in Salisbury. | |
"This attack on our Ally the United Kingdom put countless innocent lives at risk and resulted in serious injury to three people, including a police officer." | |
It called the attack an "outrageous violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and breach of international law". | |
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said his decision to expel 13 diplomats was taken "in the spirit of solidarity with our British partners and transatlantic allies and in co-ordination with EU countries". | |
Earlier on Monday, various European countries - including Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland - had summoned Russian ambassadors to their foreign ministries. |