LONDON/MOSCOW – Twenty-three expelled Russian diplomats and their families left London for Moscow on Tuesday as Britain and Russia traded recriminations over a nerve agent attack in England that has plunged relations into their worst crisis since the Cold War.

Prime Minister Theresa May blamed Russia for the attack on a Russian double agent and his daughter - the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two - and gave 23 Russians whom she said were spies working under diplomatic cover one week to leave London.

Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter and, in a reciprocal gesture on Saturday, gave 23 British diplomats a week to leave Moscow as well as closing the British Council in Russia.

As May met top officials and advisers on national security, her spokesman announced new steps to track people coming into Britain who could be deemed a threat to national security.

This was in line with an announcement by May last Wednesday that Britain would draw up new legislation to toughen defences against “hostile state activity”.

A state-owned Russian Ilyushin-96 plane, with “Rossiya” and the white, blue and red of the national flag emblazoned on the side, made a special flight from Moscow to London’s Stansted airport to pick up the diplomats who were given warm-send off by Russia’s top diplomat in London.

Thanking them on behalf of President Vladimir Putin, who on Sunday after his re-election repeated that Moscow had played no part in the attack, ambassador Alexander Yakovenko said: “We are proud of you.”

Russia has refused to explain how Novichok, a nerve agent first developed by the Soviet military, was used to strike down Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of spies to Britain.

Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia have been critically ill since they were found unconscious on a bench in the English city of Salisbury on 4 March. A British policeman who was also poisoned is in a serious but stable condition.

Russia says it knows nothing about the poisoning and has repeatedly asked Britain to supply a sample of the nerve agent that was used against Skripal.

The United States and European powers say they share Britain’s belief that Russia is culpable for the poisoning though they have given no indication of what they will do about it.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said last week that it was overwhelmingly likely that Putin himself made the decision to use the toxin against Skripal.

The two sides continued to exchange accusations over the affair.

Russian diplomats told the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva that Britain may have produced the toxin itself and that Moscow did not owe any explanations.

Britain’s ambassador to the forum, Matthew Rowland, said Russia had given misleading statements on its Novichok programme.

“Instead of engaging on the substantive concern, Russia has sought to confuse the picture with at best misleading procedural arguments,” Rowland said. Russia was using “a series of wild hypotheses and half-truth and half lies” to deflect attention from the truth, he said.

The Russian foreign ministry has invited foreign envoys to a meeting on 21 March with arms control experts to discuss the affair, the state-run TASS news agency reported on Tuesday.

Putin, who was elected for a fourth term in the Kremlin on Sunday, said Russia had been falsely accused.

“As for the tragedy that you mentioned, I found out about it from the media. The first thing that entered my head was that if it had been a military-grade nerve agent, the people would have died on the spot,” Putin told reporters on Sunday.

“Secondly, Russia does not have such (nerve) agents. We destroyed all our chemical weapons under the supervision of international organisations, and we did it first, unlike some of our partners who promised to do it, but unfortunately did not keep their promises,” Putin said.

A Cold War-era scientist acknowledged on Tuesday he had helped create the nerve agent, contradicting Moscow’s insistence that neither Russia nor the Soviet Union ever had such a programme.

However, Professor Leonid Rink told the RIA news agency that the attack did not look like Moscow’s work because Skripal and his daughter had not died immediately.

“It’s hard to believe that the Russians were involved, given that all of those caught up in the incident are still alive,” he said. “Such outrageous incompetence by the alleged (Russian) spies would have simply been laughable and unacceptable.”

Inspectors from the world’s chemical weapons watchdog have begun examining the poison used in the attack.</s>The 23 Russian diplomats expelled by the British prime minister over the nerve gas poisoning of a former Russian spy on UK soil piled out of the embassy in London on Tuesday hauling suitcases and pet cages to board buses for their return trip home.

Prime Minister Theresa May last week ordered the diplomats, who she said were undeclared intelligence agents, out of the country after blaming Moscow for being behind the poisoning of

Sergei Skripal and his daughter earlier this month with a Soviet-era nerve gas.

The attack was the first known use of the lethal toxin – identified as Novichok – in Europe since World War II.

Russia, which has denied involvement and claims it doesn’t have chemical weapons, over the weekend ordered 23 British diplomats out of the country in a tit-for-tat retaliation.

“Let’s stay sober-minded and first of all wait for proof from Britain” that Russia was to blame, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday when asked if Moscow had evidence proving its innocence.

May is expected to meet with Britain’s National Security Council later Tuesday to discuss more measures against Russia.

Skripal, 66, and his daughter, Yulia, 33, remain hospitalized in critical condition after being found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on March 4.</s>LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - Twenty three expelled Russian diplomats and their families flew out of London on an Ilyushin-96 plane on Tuesday.

The state-owned Russian plane, with “Rossiya” and the white, blue and red of Russia’s flag emblazoned on its side, made a special flight from Moscow to London’s Stansted airport to collect the diplomats.

Prime Minister Theresa May blamed Russia for this month’s attack on a Russian double-agent and his daughter - the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two - and gave 23 Russians whom she said were spies working under diplomatic cover one week to leave London. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Stephen Addison)</s>MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia expelled 23 British diplomats on Saturday in a carefully calibrated retaliatory move against London, which has accused the Kremlin of orchestrating a nerve toxin attack on a former Russian double agent and his daughter in southern England.

Escalating a crisis in relations, Russia said it was also shutting down the activities of the British Council, which fosters cultural links between the two countries, and Britain’s consulate-general in St. Petersburg.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the 23 British diplomats had one week to leave the country.

The move followed Britain’s decision on Wednesday to expel 23 Russian diplomats over the attack in the English city of Salisbury which left former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia Skripal, 33, critically ill in hospital.

Moscow announced the measures on the eve of a presidential election which incumbent Vladimir Putin should comfortably win. Putin has cast his country as a fortress besieged by hostile Western powers with him as its defender, and state media is likely to portray the anti-British move in that context.

The Foreign Ministry said Moscow’s measures were a response to what it called Britain’s “provocative actions and unsubstantiated accusations”. It warned London it stood ready to take further measures in the event of more “unfriendly steps”.

Relations between London and Moscow have crashed to a post-Cold War low over the Salisbury attack, the first known offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War Two.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain would consider its next steps with its allies in the coming days.

“We will never tolerate a threat to the life of British citizens and others on British soil from the Russian Government. We can be reassured by the strong support we have received from our friends and allies around the world,” May told her Conservative Party’s spring forum in London.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador, Laurie Bristow, to its headquarters on Saturday morning to inform him of the retaliatory measures.

Bristow told reporters afterwards that Britain had only expelled the Russian diplomats after Moscow had failed to explain how the nerve toxin had got to Salisbury.

Britain’s foreign ministry said it had anticipated Russia’s response and that its priority was to look after its staff in Russia and assist those returning home.

“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 culpable,” it said in a statement.

Britain’s National Security Council is due to meet early next week to consider London’s next steps.

Russia’s response was more robust than expected. The closure of the British Council’s Moscow office will sever cultural ties, while that of the consulate-general in St Petersburg will end Britain’s diplomatic presence in Russia’s second city.

Russian news agencies cited politicians in Russia’s upper house of parliament as welcoming the move to close the British Council, alleging it had been used as a cover by British spies.

The British Council said it was profoundly disappointed by Russia’s decision and remained committed to developing long-term people-to-people links with Russia despite the closure.

Russia has complained that Britain has failed to provide any evidence of its involvement in the Salisbury attack and has said it is shocked and bemused by the allegations.

Britain has escalated a war of words with Russia over the incident in recent days. On Friday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was overwhelmingly likely that Russian President Putin himself had made the decision to use a military-grade nerve toxin to strike down Skripal.

Britain, the United States, Germany and France have jointly called on Russia to explain the attack and U.S. President Donald Trump has said it looks as if the Russians were behind it.

Russia has said is open to cooperation with Britain, but has refused Britain’s demands to explain how Novichok, a nerve agent developed by the Soviet military, was used against the Skripals.

Skripal, a former colonel in the GRU who betrayed dozens of Russian agents to British intelligence, and his daughter have been critically ill since March 4, when they were found unconscious on a bench.

A British policeman was also poisoned when he went to help them and remains in a serious but stable condition.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Rossiya 24 TV channel on Saturday that the most likely source of the Novichok nerve toxin was Britain itself or the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden or the United States.

Those countries, not Russia, had been intensively testing the substance since the end of the 1990s, Zakharova said. The assertion could not be immediately verified.

The Swedish and Czech foreign ministers and the Slovak foreign ministry all separately rejected the Russian claim.

Russian investigators said on Friday they had opened a criminal investigation into the attempted murder of Yulia Skripal and offered to cooperate with British authorities.

Russia offered some cooperation to British authorities after the 2006 London murder of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko too.

Britain said the assistance in that case was not enough, and in 2016, an inquiry concluded that Putin had probably approved Litvinenko’s murder, something Moscow denies.</s>Nearly two dozen Russian diplomats expelled by the British government after a military-grade nerve agent attack on an ex-spy in London left for Moscow on Tuesday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said all 23 diplomats ordered to leave Britain were expected to leave Tuesday.

Several dozen people, including children, emerged from Russia’s west London embassy Tuesday morning carrying suitcases, bags and pet carriers. Russian embassy workers waved to the diplomats who were leaving and their families as three buses with diplomatic plates pulled away.

EX-RUSSIAN SPY SERGEI SKRIPAL POISONED: WHAT TO KNOW

Ahead of their departure, Russian Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko hosted a reception for the diplomats and their families.

“The world is much bigger than the United Kingdom,” he said during the reception, according to a statement. “Your knowledge and experience gained at the Embassy will always be valued in the Russian diplomatic service.”

Last Wednesday, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May ordered 23 Russian diplomats – whom she said were undeclared intelligence agents – to leave Britain within a week.

The order prompted Russia to retaliate with its own expulsion of 23 British diplomats. They are expected to leave Moscow in the coming days.

Tension between the two nations spiked after the March 4 poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, in the English city of Salisbury. The two remain hospitalized and in critical condition.

British authorities have said the pair were poisoned with a Soviet-developed form of a nerve agent known as Novichok. Western powers see the attack as a sign of increasingly aggressive Russian meddling abroad.

IN JOINT STATEMENT, WORLD LEADERS AGREE RUSSIA BEHIND NERVE AGENT ATTACK ON FORMER SPY

While Russia denies any involvement, May said it was “highly likely” the Kremlin is responsible for the attack.

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, insisted Tuesday that “Russia has no stocks of chemical weapons of any kind.”

Asked why Russia isn’t showing proof of innocence, Putin said, “let’s stay sober-minded and first of all wait for proof from Britain” that Russia is to blame.

Britain’s National Security Council was meeting Tuesday to consider further measures against Russia.

The EU on Monday condemned the poisoning and called on Russia to “address urgently” the British questions over the Novichok nerve agent program.

The British military and police are continuing to search for clues around Salisbury into what happened. International chemical weapons experts are due to take samples of the nerve agent used.

ANOTHER RUSSIAN HIT? MURDER INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED FOR EXILE FOUND WITH NECK CRUSHED IN ENGLAND

Police said the investigation may take months to complete with the widening inquiry.

Adding further strain to the already tense relations, police launched a murder investigation into the suspicious death of London-based Russian businessman Nikolai Glushkov. Authorities said Friday that he died from compression to the neck.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>Moscow is awaiting nearly two dozen Russian diplomats ordered to leave Britain following a nerve agent attack on U.K. soil.

The Russian Foreign Ministry told The Associated Press that the 23 diplomats are expected to leave British territory Tuesday.

Several dozen people, including children, emerged from Russia's west London embassy on Tuesday morning, carrying suitcases, bags and pet carriers. Some hugged before they boarded vehicles including a white minibus and were driven away.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Theresa May gave the diplomats - whom she said were undeclared intelligence agents - a week to leave Britain, an order which prompted Russia to retaliate with its own expulsion of 23 British diplomats. The British diplomats are expected to leave Moscow in the coming days.

Tensions between the two countries have ratcheted higher since the March 4 poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury. They remain in critical condition.

Britain says the pair were poisoned with a Soviet-developed form of nerve agent known as Novichok. Western powers see the attack as a sign of increasingly aggressive Russian meddling abroad.

Russia denies involvement. President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, insisted Tuesday that "Russia has no stocks of chemical weapons of any kind."

Asked why Russia isn't showing proof of its innocence, he said, "let's stay sober-minded and first of all wait for proof from Britain" that Russia was to blame.

Britain's National Security Council was meeting Tuesday to consider possible further measures against Russia. May and other European Union leaders are due to discuss the poisoning at a summit Thursday. The EU on Monday condemned the poisoning and called on Russia to "address urgently" British questions over the Novichok nerve agent program.

In a statement, it accused Britain and other EU member states of continuing development of similar nerve agents and said Britain's government is stirring up "media hysteria" around the case to distract Britons from the government's troubles in negotiating the country's exit from the EU.

Russia insists it gave up all its chemical weapons under international oversight.

The British military and police are continuing to search for clues around Salisbury into what happened. International chemical weapons experts are due to take samples of the nerve agent used, which Britain says is the Soviet-developed Novichok.

British police investigators say it may take months to complete the widening inquiry. The focus is on the movement of the Skripals in the hours before they were found unconscious on a bench in the cathedral city 90 miles (145 kms) southwest of London. A police officer who came to their assistance is in serious condition.

"This is going to be frustrating for people," said Neil Basu, head of counterterrorism at the Metropolitan Police "It is going to take weeks, possibly months to do this."

Jill Lawless in London contributed to this story.</s>Russian diplomats and their families are preparing to leave the UK after being expelled over the Salisbury spy attack.

Removal vans and diplomatic cars have been arriving at the embassy in London.

The UK expelled 23 diplomats after Prime Minister Theresa May said Russia was "culpable" for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Later on Tuesday, the Government will decide whether to impose further sanctions on Russia.

Mrs May will chair a meeting of the National Security Council.

Moscow has denied all involvement, and is expelling 23 British diplomats in response.

According to the BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Robbins, the Russian Embassy said around 80 people - including Russian diplomats and their families - will leave London today.

It comes as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the UK must still deal with Russia despite "all fingers" pointing to it over the Salisbury spy attack.

He said he would "do business" with Vladimir Putin but assertively and on the basis of the UK's values.

Former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, remain critically ill in hospital after being found slumped on a bench on 4 March. They had been exposed to a nerve agent.

Meanwhile, the head of counter-terrorism policing in the UK, Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, said the focus of the Salisbury investigation is "on the movements of the Skripals".</s>MOSCOW (AP) — Moscow is awaiting nearly two dozen Russian diplomats ordered to leave Britain as part of a standoff over a nerve agent attack on British soil.

Britain ordered the 23 diplomats to leave by Tuesday, and they’re expected in Moscow later, according to Russian media reports.

Russia retaliated by expelling 23 British diplomats, who are expected to leave Moscow in the coming days.

Russia denies involvement in the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the British city of Salisbury earlier this month. They remain in critical condition.

Britain accuses Russia of the poisoning, which Western powers see as an example of increasingly aggressive Russian meddling abroad.

International chemical weapons experts took samples Monday of the nerve agent used, which Britain says is the Soviet-developed Novichok.</s>A Russian foreign ministry official said on Wednesday that Britain may have "orchestrated an attack" on Russian citizen Yulia Skripal, the daughter of Russian former spy Sergei Skripal.

“Logic suggests that there are only two possible things,” Vladimir Yermakov, head of the ministry’s non-proliferation and arms control department, told a meeting with foreign ambassadors based in Moscow.

“Either the British authorities are not able to provide protection from such a, let’s say, terrorist attack on their soil, or they, whether directly or indirectly, I am not accusing anyone, have orchestrated an attack on a Russian citizen”, Yermakov said.

The Kremlin also said on Wednesday that a decision by the British ambassador to skip a Russian briefing on the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain showed London was unwilling to listen to Moscow’s side of the story.

The nerve agent attack in England has plunged ties between London and Moscow into their worst crisis since the Cold War. Britain has blamed Russia for the attack, something Moscow denies, and both have expelled diplomats in the stand-off.

A British embassy spokesman said on Wednesday that the UK ambassador, Laurie Bristow, would not attend the briefing with arms controls experts at the Russian Foreign Ministry, but that London was considering sending someone else.

Russia has so far refused to explain how Novichok, a nerve agent first developed by the Soviet military, was used to strike down the Skripals.

Russian news agencies reported that other ambassadors, including those from the United States and France, would also decline to attend the briefing organised by Russia later on Wednesday.</s>MOSCOW (AP) — Moscow is awaiting nearly two dozen Russian diplomats ordered to leave Britain as part of a standoff over a nerve agent attack on British soil.

Britain ordered the 23 diplomats to leave by Tuesday, and they’re expected in Moscow later, according to Russian media reports.

Russia retaliated by expelling 23 British diplomats, who are expected to leave Moscow in the coming days.

Russia denies involvement in the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the British city of Salisbury earlier this month. They remain in critical condition.

Britain accuses Russia of the poisoning, which Western powers see as an example of increasingly aggressive Russian meddling abroad.

International chemical weapons experts took samples Monday of the nerve agent used, which Britain says is the Soviet-developed Novichok.
All 23 Russian diplomats expelled from the UK and their families depart on a flight to Moscow.