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European countries expel Russian diplomats over ex-spy’s poisoning

Most countries have ordered the Russian diplomats to leave within a week

A police tent covers the area where Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found in Salisbury AP Photo/Frank Augstein

A police tent covers the area where Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found in Salisbury

© AP Photo/Frank Augstein

WARSAW, March 26. /TASS/. Several European countries - Germany, France, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Ukraine, have announced a decision to expel Russian diplomats in the wake of the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in England.

The Polish authorities have made a decision to expel four Russian diplomats by April 4, Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz told a news conference on Monday. "Poland has made a decision to declare four Russian diplomats as personae non-gratae," he said.

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Washington to expel 60 Russian diplomats

Germany’s authorities plan to expel four Russian diplomats, the country’s Foreign Ministry said. "We did not make the decision in a hurry," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Twitter, noting that Moscow was not providing assistance to the investigation.

Estonia will expel one Russian diplomat, namely a military attache of the Russian Embassy in Tallinn, Foreign Minister Sven Mikser told reporters. The move comes over "inappropriate activity for a diplomat."

The Czech Republic has ordered three Russian diplomats to leave the country "in solidarity with the United Kingdom," Prime Minister Andrej Babis said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced that four Russian diplomats would be expelled in the wake of the Salisbury incident.

Italy will kick out two Russian diplomats from the Russian Embassy in Rome, the Foreign Ministry said.

Ukraine has ordered 13 Russian diplomats to leave the country, President Pyotr Poroshenko said.

Two Russians will be expelled from both the Netherlands and Denmark. Finland and Romania also followed suit, announcing the decision to expel one Russian diplomat from each country.

Reuters reported that Latvia’s authorities plan to kick out one Russian diplomat.

Lithuania plans to expel three Russian diplomats and declare 44 Russian citizens personae non gratae, the news agency reported citing the country’s Foreign Ministry.

Read also

Kremlin counts on Europe’s political logic and wisdom in Skripal case

Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic said his country will also expel one Russian diplomat.

The Swedish government said one Russian diplomat will be ordered to leave the country following the Salisbury incident.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk announced that 14 EU member-states have announced a decision to kick out Russian diplomats after last week’s summit.

Most countries have ordered the Russian diplomats to leave within seven days.

On March 4, former Russian intelligence officer and convicted British spy Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Yulia were allegedly poisoned with a nerve agent, according to British investigators. Later, London stated that this agent was designed in Russia and blamed Moscow for being behind the incident based on this assumption. The Russian side refuted all accusations, saying that neither the Soviet Union, nor Russia had any programs for developing this agent. London expelled 23 Russian diplomats without providing any evidence and stated that other anti-Russian measures would follow, after which Moscow took retaliatory measures by ejecting the same number of the British embassy staff members and ordering the closure of the UK’s consulate general in St. Petersburg and terminating the activity of the British Council in Russia.

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Skripal poisoning case

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Iran suspends flights above several cities amid reports of air attack — IRNA

Fox News said the Jewish state delivered a limited strike on Iran

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US blackmails other countries at United Nations — Russian mission

Dmitry Polyansky said "this shameful neocolonial tactics are fully exposed now in the context of Gaza War"

Ukrainian president admits Russian troops’ advancement

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Ukraine convicts 12th world chess champion for recognizing Donetsk, Lugansk republics

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German MFA summons Russian ambassador after detention of espionage suspects — newspaper

Commenting on the men's arrest, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said: "Our security services have prevented possible explosions aimed at undermining our military assistance to Ukraine"

Tehran’s two major airports cancel international flights — Mehr

Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad International Airport suspended their operations until 10:30 a.m. local time

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Nord Stream AG's refusal to pay compensation destroys Western insurance system — diplomat

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On the evening of April 13, Iran launched drones and missiles toward Israel in response to what it called "repeated crimes" from Tel Aviv, including the attack on the consular office of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus ascribed to Israel

UK imposes sanctions against leading Iranian military figures — Foreign Office

Restrictions have been imposed on Sayyed Javad Musavi, commercial director of the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG), which is responsible for the Iranian ballistics program

French president says creating Israeli-type air defense network for Ukraine impossible

Emmanuel Macron added that Europe’s resources are limited, and the European Union will continue helping Kiev keeping in mind its own reserves

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CIA chief says Ukraine could lose by end of this year — Politico

William Burns said "there is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could at least put Putin in a position where he could essentially dictate the terms of a political settlement"

Agents in Ukrainian, Poland foil attempt to kill Zelensky, security officials in Kiev say

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"China always opposes the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States and will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises," Liu Pengyu said

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Ukrainian trace obvious in Crocus City Hall attack — Russian Prosecutor General

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Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed Gustavo Petro’s initiative, "being committed to promotion of Colombia’s candidacy"

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