Russia on Friday expelled Dutch diplomats and told Britain it had one month to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country, hitting back at EU countries after a coordinated campaign by the UK and its allies over a nerve agent attack on a former spy.

Earlier in the day Russia had summoned the ambassadors of a number of nations including Britain, France, Germany and Canada to inform them of retaliatory measures.

Dutch ambassador Renee Jones-Bos said she had been told two diplomats would be expelled.

“Two of my colleagues are leaving Moscow. But we (the embassy) are staying here,” state news agency TASS quoted her as saying.

The Russian foreign ministry also gave Britain a month to cut its number of diplomatic staff in Russia to the same as Russia has in Britain.

Moscow has already announced that it would expel 60 US diplomats and close Washington’s consulate in Saint Petersburg after the expulsion of its own diplomats and the closure of one of its US consulates.

In all, more than 150 Russian diplomats have been ordered out of the US, EU members, NATO countries and other nations in a coordinated action against Moscow, which they accuse of being involved in the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in a nerve agent attack in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.

The ambassadors had earlier been seen arriving at the Russian foreign ministry, an AFP journalist reported.

“The ambassadors will be handed protest notes and told about the Russian side’s retaliatory measures,” the foreign ministry said in a terse statement.

The ministry did not say what those steps would be, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that Moscow would respond with “tit-for-tat” measures, but they might “not only” be symmetrical.

The Kremlin said Friday it was not Russia that had unleashed a diplomatic war with the West.

“Russia did not unleash any diplomatic war,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Russia never initiated any exchange of sanctions.”

“Russia has been forced to take retaliatory steps in response to hostile, illegal actions” by Washington, he said, adding that Moscow wanted “good relations” and remained open for dialogue.

Some people in Saint Petersburg said they welcomed the move.

“It is about time. Relations will not get worse because they were never good and we will get by without them.”

In Washington, the State Department said Thursday there was no justification for the Russian move and that the United States “reserves the right to respond”.

“It’s clear from the list provided to us that the Russian Federation is not interested in a dialogue on issues that matter to our two countries,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said of the expelled diplomats.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Russia’s expulsion of US diplomats marks a “further deterioration” in relations between the two countries.

Lavrov said the US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman had been informed of “retaliatory measures”.

The hospital where Skripal and his daughter are being treated said Thursday that Yulia, 33, was “improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition”, while 66-year-old Sergei remained in a critical but stable condition.

Britain has said it is “highly likely” that Russia was responsible for the attack using the Novichok nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union, but Russia has angrily denied any involvement.

Russia said 58 diplomats from the US embassy in Moscow and two from the consulate in the city of Yekaterinburg have to leave Russia by next Thursday.

The US consulate general in Saint Petersburg will have to be vacated by Saturday.

Moscow warned that Huntsman’s suggestion that the US could also freeze Russian state assets would lead to “further serious deterioration in our relations”.

It also warned that it could take further measures in response if Washington “continued hostile actions” against the Russian embassy and consulates.

Lavrov said Russia was also mulling tit-for-tat responses to the other countries that have expelled its diplomats.

“As for the other countries, it’s also all symmetrical measures as to the number of people who will be leaving Russia from diplomatic missions, and that’s all so far,” Lavrov said.

The measures might “not only” be symmetrical, he added.

Lavrov said Britain had informed Moscow of the state of health of Yulia Skripal on Thursday and that Russia had asked again for access to her as a citizen.

After the poisoning, Britain reacted by announcing it would expel 23 Russian diplomats, suspend high-level diplomatic contact with Moscow and not send royals to the 2018 football World Cup hosted by Russia.

Russia then responded by closing a British consulate in Saint Petersburg and closing the British Council educational and cultural organisation.</s>Russia is to expel 60 US diplomats and has ordered the closure of the US consulate in St. Petersburg, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday, in retaliation for a similar move by Washington.

Lavrov, making the announcement in Moscow, said the US ambassador Jon Huntsman had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry to be told of the decision.

The US expelled 60 diplomats on Monday as part of a coordinated global response to the poisoning of a former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, in Britain. The British government blames Russia for using a military-grade nerve agent for the poisoning, in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.

More than 20 countries said they would expel more than 100 Russian diplomats over the case.

Russia has firmly denied responsibility and President Vladimir Putin has dismissed it as "delirium." Russia had already been engaged in a tit-for-tat with Britain, with both countries expelling 23 diplomats.</s>Image copyright EPA Image caption The US Consulate in St Petersburg is to be closed

Russia has expelled 60 US diplomats and closed the St Petersburg consulate in a tit-for-tat response to US action over a spy poisoning case in the UK.

Russia's foreign minister said other countries that expelled Russians could expect a "symmetrical" response.

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.

Image copyright EPA/ Yulia Skripal/Facebook Image caption Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, have been in hospital since the attack

Russia has vehemently denied any role in the Salisbury attack. Mr Skripal remains in a critical but stable condition. His daughter's condition is said to be improving.

More than 20 countries have expelled Russian envoys in solidarity with the UK. Among them is the US, which earlier this week ordered 60 diplomats to leave and closed the Russian consulate general in Seattle.

Whom is Russia expelling?

Russia declared 58 US diplomats in Moscow and two in the city of Yekaterinburg to be "personae non gratae".

Image copyright AFP Image caption Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would respond "in kind"

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said US ambassador Jon Huntsman had been informed of the "retaliatory measures".

"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.

Later, a US state department spokeswoman said America reserved the right to take further action.

The Russian foreign minister also accused Britain of "forcing everyone to follow an anti-Russian course".

He said Moscow was responding to "absolutely unacceptable actions that are taken against us under very harsh pressure from the United States and Britain under the pretext of the so-called Skripal case".

He reiterated Russian calls for consular access to Yulia Skripal - a Russian citizen.

Russia, he said, was also seeking a meeting with leaders of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to "establish the truth".

How did the tit-for-tat expulsions begin?

Following the incident in Salisbury, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced a series of sanctions, including the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats alleged to be intelligence agents.

The Kremlin responded by expelling an equal number of UK diplomats and closing the country's British Council.

Then - in what has been cited as the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history - more than 20 governments expelled diplomats in their countries.

UK National Security Adviser Mark Sedwill, speaking in Washington on Thursday, said expulsions by Western countries were aimed at rooting out covert Russian intelligence networks.

What do we know about the nerve agent?

Britain says the chemical used in the attack was part of a group of nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union known as Novichok.

Experts from the OPCW arrived in the UK on 19 March to test samples. The results are expected to take a minimum of two weeks, the government says.

Police say the Skripals first came into contact with the nerve agent at Mr Skripal's home in Salisbury, with the highest concentration found on the front door.</s>A total of eighteen countries in the European Union stood with the UK and retaliated against Russia over the country’s suspected involvement in the chemical attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia that took place earlier this month. Among them are also former Soviet republics including Latvia and Lithuania, which expelled a total of four Russian diplomats. However, there are nine nations who didn’t take part to the spontaneous coalition created against Moscow following the nerve agent attack.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl announced in a joint statement that Wien would not take any “national measures” against Russia, as it wants to “keep the channels of communication” to Moscow “open”. They added: "Austria is a neutral country and sees itself as a bridge-builder between East and West." Mr Kurz’s People’s Party OVP is in a government coalition with far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which have a “cooperation pact” with President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.

Bulgaria, which took up the rotating presidency of the EU Council in December 2017, said that its current position within Europe demands Sofia remain neutral. The country has strong business ties with many Russian firms. Global energy company Gazprom, for instance, is Bulgaria’s only natural gas provider, supplying almost 97 per cent of the country’s gas needs, according to the Association of Accredited Public Policy Advocates to the EU.

The country’s government spokesman Prodromos Prodromos said that Cyprus “is not in a position to take measures against countries that are permanent members of the UN Security Council”. A diplomatic source told news website Sputnik that “for the moment” Greece hasn’t taken any decisions regarding the expulsion of Russian diplomats. The source added: “The leadership of the country is in a difficult situation, as the Greek public perceives any steps that could lead to aggravation of relations with Russia negatively.”

The small country’s foreign minister announced his nation will not expel any Russian diplomats for a reason similar to the one declared by New Zealand. Jean Asselborn said: “We have a very limited number of Russian diplomats and, despite all our efforts, we could not prove that any of them were spies or persons working against Luxembourg interests.” Still, the country pledged its solidarity with the UK. Although the Maltese government said in a statement it supports the UK, Malta has announced it won’t expel any diplomats. The statement reads: "We are not doing so ourselves [expelling Russian diplomats] because our diplomatic mission in Moscow is very small and any response by Russia would effectively terminate diplomatic relations."

The country “immediately condemned the attack in Salisbury and vehemently expressed its solidarity with the United Kingdom” issuing a statement following the nerve agent attack. Yet Lisbon’s said the EU nation will not take any actions at a national level because it believes that “coordination at the EU level is the most effective means to respond to the gravity of the current situation”. Portugal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva said: “At every moment we take whatever measure shows itself to best comply with Portugal's national interests, Europe's interests and NATO's interests”.

Although it condemned the attack, Slovakia has announced it won’t “yield to any pressure and perform unnecessary theatrical gestures”. Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said: "Slovakia has already prepared further possible steps. “We will wait, because it is not enough for Slovakia to have only an assurance that Russia is highly likely responsible for the poisoning of Skripal. We will begin by summoning the Russian ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “If it is necessary, we will take further steps.”

The country’s foreign minister Karl Erjavec said on Monday that it was still too soon to take any actions against Russia as Moscow hasn’t been proven guilty yet. He said: “We stick to the position adopted by the European Council that it must be determined what actually has happened”. He also added that his government will discuss the matter on Thursday.

More than 100 diplomats were ordered to return to Russia in the last week by Western countries standing with Britain, including some European nations which are not part of the EU. Among them are Ukraine, which expelled 13 diplomats, and Norway, which called the use of nerve agent a "very serious matter". Notably, Switzerland is not included in this list, as its Government said it will wait for the results of the ongoing investigation before taking any action. Yet, it has "strongly" condemned the attack. President of European Council Donald Tusk said on Monday that the union wasn’t excluding the possibility to take “additional measures” in the coming days against Moscow, which has strongly denied responsibility for the attack. The episode, which took place in March 4, is the first known offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the end of the Second World War.</s>MOSCOW: Moscow on Friday (Mar 30) issued tit-for-tat measures against countries that have expelled Russian diplomats in a mass show of support for Britain over the poisoning of a former double agent in England.

Russia announced the expulsion of diplomats from 23 countries, almost all of them European Union members, and told Britain to make unspecified "reductions" to its diplomatic staff.

Most of the ambassadors driven up to the front door of the Russian foreign ministry in flagged official cars on Friday came from EU countries.

Eighteen of the 28 EU countries have now expelled Russian diplomats and Moscow issued tit-for-tat measures against a majority of them.

The Netherlands was the first to announce that Russia was expelling two diplomats.

According to their officials and state broadcasters, Germany and Poland would be sending home four diplomats each, the Czech Republic and Lithuania three each, and Italy, Spain, Albania and Denmark would all have two expelled.

Latvia, Estonia, Croatia, Sweden, Romania, Ireland, Norway and Finland must each withdraw one diplomat. France was told it would have to send home four diplomats.

Ukraine was told 13 diplomats will have to leave, while Moldova had three expulsions confirmed.

Expulsions are expected for Canada, Australia and Macedonia after they were summoned to Russia's foreign ministry, but have not yet been confirmed.

Russia on Thursday separately announced it would expel 60 US diplomats and close the US consulate in Saint Petersburg.

Washington had earlier ordered 60 Russia diplomats to leave the country and shut down the Russian consulate general in Seattle.

Moscow has already expelled British diplomats but issued an additional punishment on Friday, saying London must cut its diplomatic presence within a month to the same as Russia has in the UK - without giving a number.

London has said that Moscow is "highly likely" behind the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a Soviet-developed nerve agent in the English city of Salisbury on Mar 4.

Britain has expelled 23 Russian diplomats, suspended high-level diplomatic contacts and vowed not send royal family members to the football World Cup hosted by Russia this summer.

Russia had already retaliated by expelling 23 British diplomats, closing a UK consulate in Saint Petersburg and shutting down the British Council educational and cultural organisation.

Slovakia, Malta, Bulgaria, Portugal and Luxembourg recalled their ambassadors to Russia for consultations this week, in a temporary measure to show disapproval.

Russia said it reserves the right to respond to countries that have recently announced expulsions of Russian diplomats: Belgium, Hungary, Georgia and Montenegro.</s>Situation escalates over the alleged poisoning of a former spy and his daughter earlier this month

Foreign Affairs Minster Chrystia Freeland says the diplomats have been declared “person non grata” by the Russian government. (Canadian Press)

Global Affairs Canada says four Canadian diplomats have been expelled from Russia as the dispute between the Kremlin and the West escalates over the alleged poisoning of a former spy and his daughter earlier this month.

In an email Friday, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minster Chrystia Freeland says the diplomats have been declared “person non grata” by the Russian government and efforts were underway for those affected to return to Canada.

The move comes after Freeland announced Monday the expulsion of four Russian diplomats from Canada as the U.S. and more than a dozen European allies took similar actions against dozens of Russian diplomats in their own countries.

On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow summoned the U.S. ambassador to announce the expulsion of 60 U.S. diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to Washington’s move.

Nearly two dozen ambassadors from other countries followed suit Friday.

The expulsions follow the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the British city of Salisbury on March 4 by what has been described as a military-grade nerve agent.

A hospital treating the Skripals said Thursday that 33-year-old Yulia was improving rapidly and is now in stable condition, although her 66-year-old father remained in critical condition.

The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the attack on Skripal, who served as a double agent for British intelligence before he was arrested by Russian authorities and later transferred to the United Kingdom in a spy swap.

But western governments have nonetheless blamed Russia for what Freeland has described as a “despicable, heinous and reckless act, potentially endangering the lives of hundreds.”

Meanwhile, the expulsions affect not only the diplomats, but their families as well, forcing them to take their children out of school in the middle of the year.

“The well-being of Global Affairs Canada employees is our priority,” Adam Austen, Freeland’s press secretary, said in a statement to The Canadian Press. “We will be making every effort to support those affected and their families with their return to Canada.”

Austen added that Canada’s decision to expel the Russian officials earlier in the week was done “in solidarity with our close ally, the United Kingdom.”

“This action was in no way aimed at the Russian people, with whom Canada has long and fruitful ties,” he said. “Canada remains committed to dialogue and co-operation with Russia on issues where we face common challenges.”

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a Toronto news conference that Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to answer for Russia’s role in the nerve gas attack. The next day, the Russian embassy tweeted its response, accusing Trudeau of using confrontational and unproductive rhetoric.</s>*Russia to Expel U.S. Diplomats in Response to U.S. Measures over U.K. Spy Poisoning Case - RIA State News Agency

*Russia to Expel Same Number of Diplomats as U.S. Did - RIA</s>OTTAWA -- Global Affairs Canada says four Canadian diplomats have been expelled from Russia as the dispute between the Kremlin and the West escalates over the alleged poisoning of a former spy and his daughter earlier this month.

In an email Friday, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minster Chrystia Freeland says the diplomats have been declared "persona non grata" by the Russian government and efforts were underway for those affected to return to Canada.

The move comes after Freeland announced Monday the expulsion of four Russian diplomats from Canada as the U.S. and more than a dozen European allies took similar actions against dozens of Russian diplomats in their own countries.

On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow summoned the U.S. ambassador to announce the expulsion of 60 U.S. diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to Washington's move.

Nearly two dozen ambassadors from other countries followed suit Friday.

The expulsions follow the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the British city of Salisbury on March 4 by what has been described as a military-grade nerve agent.

A hospital treating the Skripals said Thursday that 33-year-old Yulia was improving rapidly and is now in stable condition, although her 66-year-old father remained in critical condition.

The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the attack on Skripal, who served as a double agent for British intelligence before he was arrested by Russian authorities and later transferred to the United Kingdom in a spy swap.

But western governments have nonetheless blamed Russia for what Freeland has described as a "despicable, heinous and reckless act, potentially endangering the lives of hundreds."

Meanwhile, the expulsions affect not only the diplomats, but their families as well, forcing them to take their children out of school in the middle of the year.

"The well-being of Global Affairs Canada employees is our priority," Adam Austen, Freeland's press secretary, said in a statement to The Canadian Press. "We will be making every effort to support those affected and their families with their return to Canada."

Austen added that Canada's decision to expel the Russian officials earlier in the week was done "in solidarity with our close ally, the United Kingdom."

"This action was in no way aimed at the Russian people, with whom Canada has long and fruitful ties," he said. "Canada remains committed to dialogue and co-operation with Russia on issues where we face common challenges."

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a Toronto news conference that Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to answer for Russia's role in the nerve gas attack. The next day, the Russian embassy tweeted its response, accusing Trudeau of using confrontational and unproductive rhetoric.

With files from The Associated Press</s>Situation escalates over the alleged poisoning of a former spy and his daughter earlier this month

Foreign Affairs Minster Chrystia Freeland says the diplomats have been declared “person non grata” by the Russian government. (Canadian Press)

Global Affairs Canada says four Canadian diplomats have been expelled from Russia as the dispute between the Kremlin and the West escalates over the alleged poisoning of a former spy and his daughter earlier this month.

In an email Friday, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minster Chrystia Freeland says the diplomats have been declared “person non grata” by the Russian government and efforts were underway for those affected to return to Canada.

The move comes after Freeland announced Monday the expulsion of four Russian diplomats from Canada as the U.S. and more than a dozen European allies took similar actions against dozens of Russian diplomats in their own countries.

On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow summoned the U.S. ambassador to announce the expulsion of 60 U.S. diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to Washington’s move.

Nearly two dozen ambassadors from other countries followed suit Friday.

The expulsions follow the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the British city of Salisbury on March 4 by what has been described as a military-grade nerve agent.

A hospital treating the Skripals said Thursday that 33-year-old Yulia was improving rapidly and is now in stable condition, although her 66-year-old father remained in critical condition.

The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the attack on Skripal, who served as a double agent for British intelligence before he was arrested by Russian authorities and later transferred to the United Kingdom in a spy swap.

But western governments have nonetheless blamed Russia for what Freeland has described as a “despicable, heinous and reckless act, potentially endangering the lives of hundreds.”

Meanwhile, the expulsions affect not only the diplomats, but their families as well, forcing them to take their children out of school in the middle of the year.

“The well-being of Global Affairs Canada employees is our priority,” Adam Austen, Freeland’s press secretary, said in a statement to The Canadian Press. “We will be making every effort to support those affected and their families with their return to Canada.”

Austen added that Canada’s decision to expel the Russian officials earlier in the week was done “in solidarity with our close ally, the United Kingdom.”

“This action was in no way aimed at the Russian people, with whom Canada has long and fruitful ties,” he said. “Canada remains committed to dialogue and co-operation with Russia on issues where we face common challenges.”

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a Toronto news conference that Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to answer for Russia’s role in the nerve gas attack. The next day, the Russian embassy tweeted its response, accusing Trudeau of using confrontational and unproductive rhetoric.</s>In this file photo, journalists watch as Russian President Vladimir Putin gives his annual state of the nation address | AP

WASHINGTON: President Vladimir Putin has said in an interview that he "couldn't care less" if fellow Russian citizens sought to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election, insisting such efforts could not be tied to the Kremlin.

"Why have you decided the Russian authorities, myself included, gave anybody permission to do this?" Putin asked in the often-combative interview with NBC television released yesterday.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is conducting a wide-ranging investigation to determine whether President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow to help elect him.

Last month Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies for allegedly backing Trump's campaign, maligning his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and engaging in other election interference.

ALSO READ: Donald Trump 'personally invited' Russian President Putin to 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow

"So what if they're Russians?" Putin said of the allegations.

"There are 146 million Russians. So what?. I don't care. I couldn't care less. They do not represent the interests of the Russian state."

Mueller issued a 37-page indictment against the Russians but Putin indicated he has seen no evidence thus far that the alleged meddling broke any US law.

"Are we the ones who imposed sanctions on the United States? The US imposed sanctions on us," he said.

"We in Russia cannot prosecute anyone as long as they have not violated Russian law. At least send us a piece of paper. Give us a document. Give us an official request. And we'll take a look at it."

America's leading intelligence agencies concluded last year that Putin himself had directed a broad intelligence effort to influence the US election to undermine Clinton's campaign and boost Trump's chances, but Trump has repeatedly denied colluding with Moscow.

The Russian leader also rejected those assessments.

"Could anyone really believe that Russia, thousands of miles away influenced the outcome of the election? Doesn't that sound ridiculous even to you?" Putin asked.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, when he announced the Russian indictment, said it made no judgment on whether the alleged Russian propaganda campaign altered the outcome of the election which Trump won.

"It's not our goal to interfere. We do not see what goal we would accomplish by interfering. There's no goal," Putin said.

Trump himself has repeatedly shied away from condemning Russia over the alleged meddling.

US intelligence chiefs last month said Russian attempts to meddle in US politics are continuing unabated -- and pose a threat to mid-term congressional elections in November.
The Putin administration closes the United States consulate in Saint Petersburg and expels 60 U.S. diplomats from Russia as a retaliatory measure to the closing of the Russian consulate in Seattle, Washington.