Moscow and London agree to restore diplomatic missions partially

Russia and the United Kingdom have reached an agreement to restore their diplomatic missions partially since January 2019, Russian Ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko said.

"We have reached an agreement in principle that the diplomatic staff in both Moscow and London would be restored sometime in January. I am not sure that will be done in relation to all staff, but at least half of the embassy will be restored," TASS cited the ambassador as saying.

Yakovenko described the agreement as a positive step in bilateral relations

In March 2018, Russia and Great Britain each expelled 23 diplomats from their countries, following the nerve-agent attack in Salisbury, England, against Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia. In retaliation, the Kremlin forced the British Council to end its work in Russia and closed Britain’s consulate in St. Petersburg.