Moscow (dpa) - Russia has announced the expulsion of 23 British diplomats as a row escalates with London over a nerve-agent attack on a former double agent on British soil.
The move, revealed by the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, comes in retaliation for Britain's decision on Wednesday to expel the same number of Russian diplomats following the use of a Russian-developed nerve agent to poison Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said that the expulsions had been"anticipated."
"We will consider our next steps in the coming days," she told supporters at a forum in London. "Russia's response doesn't change the facts of the matter: the attempted assassination of two people on British soil, for which there is no alternative conclusion other than that the Russian state was responsible."
The poisoning was "an act of Russian aggression," she added.
The British Council has also fallen victim to the escalating tensions, with Moscow on Saturday withdrawing its permission for the cultural institute to open a location in St Petersburg.
The Council has been ordered to cease all operations in Russia, with the Foreign Ministry citing its "unregulated status."
Russia has threatened to escalate its response should Britain respond with further sanctions, according to the ministry statement.
Skripal, who was convicted in Russia of selling state secrets to Britain, and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in the southern city of Salisbury. Both are in a critical but stable condition in hospital.
Russia has come under growing pressure from Britain and its allies after Prime Minister Theresa May said it was "highly likely" that Moscow was responsible for the attack.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told reporters that it was"overwhelmingly likely" that Putin himself ordered the attack.
The Kremlin, however, has repeatedly denied any involvement and dismissed Johnson's accusation as "shocking and inexcusable."
The British Foreign Office said earlier Saturday that "we have no disagreement with the people of Russia and we continue to believe itis not in our national interest to break off all dialogue between our countries but the onus remains on the Russian state to account for their actions."
The BBC reported that British police were contacting Russian exiles to discuss their safety following the Skripal case and the more recent murder of businessman Nikolai Glushkov.
The BBC was told, "police and the security services have reassessed their view that exiles are at a low risk."
Glushkov, who was given political asylum in Britain after being convicted of fraud in Russia, was found dead in his London home on Monday.
A murder investigation was launched after a pathologist's report gave the cause of the Russian exile's death as "compression to the neck."
However, a police statement emphasized that "at this stage, there is nothing to suggest any link to the attempted murders in Salisbury, nor any evidence that he [Glushkov] was poisoned."
