LONDON, April 1. /TASS/. Russia’s Embassy to London issued a warning on Saturday for Russian citizens planning to take summer courses for their children in the United Kingdom.
"We recommend the Russian citizens who are planning to send their children to the United Kingdom for summer schools or summer language courses to carefully consider the necessity of such trips," the embassy said. "According to British politicians’ statements, we must not rule out Russian citizens’ children can be subject to unpredictable repercussions of the campaign unleashed by the United Kingdom, including through the local media, which aims to demonize Russia and the Russians."
"Actually, calls for a discriminatory stance towards Russian children studying at local schools are implied," the statement posted on the embassy’s website says.
The Russian diplomats pointed out that "the embassy is limited in its capabilities after irresponsible expulsions of many Russian diplomats by the British side, including consular staff."
Relations between Moscow and London are at rock bottom over the poisoning of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, who was earlier sentenced in Russia for spying for the UK, and his daughter Yulia, who on March 4 were found unconscious on a bench near the Maltings shopping center in Salisbury. Police said they had been exposed to a nerve agent.
Later, London claimed that the toxin of Novichok-class had been allegedly developed in Russia. With that, the UK rushed to accuse Russia of being involved, while failing to produce any evidence. Moscow refuted the accusations that it had participated in the incident and points out that neither the Soviet Union nor Russia have ever done research into that toxic chemical.
Without providing any proof, London expelled 23 Russian diplomats and suspended all planned high-level bilateral contacts. In response, Moscow expelled the equal number of UK diplomats. In addition, Britain’s consulate in St. Petersburg was ordered to be closed and the British Council’s operations in Russia were terminated.