The United States and up to 20 European countries are preparing to expel Russian diplomats. The unprecedented co-ordinated action will begin on Monday with the recall of the European Union’s ambassador to Moscow for four weeks, British publication The Times reported.
According to the publication, this decision was made in connection with the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, for which the UK Prime Minister Theresa May blames Russia.
The newspaper cited an unnamed source who reported that "a coordinated series of expulsions" will take place in France, Germany, Poland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Chelorg.com writes.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump’s National Security Council recommended that a yet-to-be determined number of Russian diplomats be expelled from the US in response to the Skripal poisoning. Trump is expected to take a final decision next week.
Moscow will immediately take retaliatory measures if Washington decides to expel Russian diplomats, Deputy Chairman of Russian Federation Council's Committee on International Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov said on Saturday, Sputnik reports.
"If the United States decides to expel Russian diplomats, the retaliatory measures will be taken immediately," Dzhabarov said.
The lawmaker, however, noted that Trump was unlikely to follow such recommendations as there are a lot of problems in US-Russian relations which have to be settled, especially taken into account the fact that UK Prime Minister Theresa May's accusations were unfounded.
