The Russian Government has expelled 60 United States diplomats and closed the St Petersburg consulate in a tit-for-tat response to US action over a spy poisoning case in the UK. According t BBC, Russia's foreign minister had warned that other countries that expelled Russians in solidarity with the United Kingdom could expect a "symmetrical" response.
The report said on Friday, several ambassadors from Western countries were summoned to the Russian foreign ministry. The move comes amid a row over the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in the UK.
Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench in the city of Salisbury on 4 March, and the UK government has blamed Russia for the attack.
Although Russia has vehemently denied any role in the Salisbury attack, many European countries have supported UK by expelling Russian diplomats. Some countries have also vowed to boycott the World Cup set to be hosted by Russia. The US earlier this week ordered 60 diplomats to leave and closed the Russian consulate general in Seattle.
According to BBC, Mr Skripal remains in a critical but stable condition, while his daughter's condition is believed to be improving significantly.
Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov said US ambassador Jon Huntsman had been informed of the "retaliatory measures". He further said actions regarding other countries involved would be announced soon.
"As for the other countries, everything will also be symmetrical in terms of the number of people from their diplomatic missions who will be leaving Russia," he added.
