Britain's ambassador to Russia has been summoned to the country's foreign ministry for talks, amid the ongoing diplomatic fallout after the Sailsbury spy poisoning.

Laurie Bristow did not give details about his talks with ministers as he left the government building on Friday.

However, the foreign ministry confirmed the UK had been given one month to cut its diplomatic mission to Russia to the same size as the Russian mission to Britain.

Mr Bristow told reporters: "I have just had a further discussion with the foreign ministry in Moscow about measures both sides have taken after events in Salisbury.

"I am not going to go into details... but we will study what we have been told and make our decisions accordingly."

He added: "It is important to remember why this crisis has arisen in the first place.

"It's the use of a chemical weapon on the streets of the United Kingdom that has threatened the lives of a number of people in my country. We asked certain questions of the Russian state and have not received adequate answers.

"What you have seen in recent days, the action taken by a couple of dozen countries, is the depth of concern about the damage this has caused to international security."

It comes as Russia faces mass expulsions of its diplomatic staff around the world, with more than 150 sent back from 25 countries, and NATO.

Ambassadors from Germany, Italy, Poland and France were also summoned to the ministry on Friday for talks.

The ministry said it was summoning the envoys of countries which had taken "unfriendly steps" since the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Retaliatory measures were announced to ambassadors, with Italy told it would lose two diplomats, and Finland to lose one.

Other countries are expected to find out throughout the day how their own diplomatic missions will be affected.

The German ambassador said they were open for dialogue with Russia, but said the country "must respond" to allegations about the Skripal poisoning.

Russia has said it will respond by expelling the same number of diplomats from each country.

The US Consulate in St Petersberg will also close and 60 diplomats have been expelled.

Ms Skripal is understood to be conscious and talking having been poisoned with novichok while visiting her father in Salisbury.

Police are treating the attack as attempted murder.

Mr Skripal, a former Russian spy, has been in a critical condition since 4 March.</s>Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Migrants from Guinea don winter clothes donated by a charity in Bardonecchia

Armed French customs officers have provoked widespread anger by entering a migrant clinic at a railway station over the border in Italy.

Five officers forced one individual to undergo a urine test at the premises west of the city of Turin on Friday evening, Italian reports say.

The facility is located about 1km (0.6 miles) inside the Italian border.

Political figures in Italy, which has received over 600,000 migrants in the last four years, condemned the move.

The French ambassador, Christian Masset, was called into the Italian foreign ministry in Rome on Saturday to explain what had happened.

"French border agents entered - armed - the clinic run in Bardonecchia, forcing a migrant to a urine test and intimidating our doctor and the mediators and lawyers," the medical organisation which operates a clinic at the premises, Rainbow for Africa, said.

The organisation said the actions of the French officers "seriously interfered" with the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Italian institutions.

It added that the French border was becoming "increasingly militarised" and called for a change in France's strict policy in rejecting migrants.

However, the French government responded by saying the officials had asked for permission to enter the centre at the station in the Italian ski resort and were allowed in.

It said that a team of French customs officers on board a train travelling into Italy suspected a Nigerian train passenger with Italian residency was carrying drugs.

French customs officials waited for the passenger to alight from the train and were allowed to use the station at Bardonecchia to obtain a urine sample under a bi-national agreement, it added, insisting that the officers had followed procedure.

The test results came back negative.

Bardonecchia mayor Francesco Avato said he was "very upset" by the news, adding that the French officers "had no right" to go into the property.

Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said the incident was "yet another mistake on the issue of migrants".

An MP with the far-right Brothers of Italy, Augusta Montaruli, said the behaviour of the French officers at Bardonecchia was "very serious".

"This is an unprecedented lack of respect towards Italy," she said. "We are not Macron's toilet," she added, suggesting that the French president was treating his neighbour with contempt.

French media suggest that the country's customs officers frequently return migrants to the centre in Bardonecchia if they are found attempting to enter France.

Bardonecchia is the first stop in Italy on the high-speed rail route from Paris to Milan.

Migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean and arrived in Italy sometimes try to reach France by crossing the Italian Alps despite the snow, bad weather conditions and terrain.

A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.</s>A Nigerian man dubbed Italy's "migrant hero" has been baptised by Pope Francis during an Easter service at St. Peter's Basilica.

John Ogah, 31, was begging outside a supermarket in Rome last year when a masked thief armed with a cleaver tried to rob it. He held the man down until police arrived - and was ultimately rewarded with a residency permit.

As the Pope baptised him, an Italian police captain stood by his side as his godfather.</s>Italy's Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador on Saturday after French border patrol guards brought a Nigerian man to a clinic for migrants at a Italian railway station and demanded that staff take a urine sample from him.

The humanitarian group Rainbow4Africa, which runs the facility at the Bardonecchia train station between the French city of Grenoble and Turin, in Italy, has denounced what it called a "raid" on Friday night by five armed French border agents.

It said the guards, who suspected the migrant of drug trafficking, had intimidated the group's staff.

A volunteer who witnessed the incident told Sky TG24 that the Nigerian had Italian identity papers and a valid Paris-Naples train ticket.

French 'had no right to enter the facility': Bardonecchia mayor

Rome said the incident was "a serious act considered outside the scope of cooperation between states sharing a border," while several Italian politicians decried what they said was violation of Italian territory.

Massimiliano Fedriga of the right-wing League, which made big gains in last month's general election , said the French had made Italy look like "the laughing stock of Europe."

Read more: Migrant relocations from Italy and Greece drawing to a close

"French police do whatever they want on Italian territory without being disturbed as if they are at home. What happened in Bardonecchia is serious and shows how our so-called friends in Europe have little or no consideration for us," he said in a statement.

Bardonecchia Mayor Francesco Avato said the French had no right to enter the facility, which he said the city operates as a "neutral" space to try to persuade migrants not to make the dangerous Alpine crossing into France.

Italy's Foreign Ministry added that the two countries would address the issue further at a meeting in Turin on April 16.

But France said it had a right to intervene, according to a 1990 agreement between the two neighbors.

The urine test on the passenger turned out negative, according to a French statement. The French said they were more than willing to explain the details to Italian authorities.

French and Austrian patrol teams have stepped up checks along their borders with Italy to stop migrants from crossing the snow-covered mountains on foot or by trains and trucks.

Read more: Italy elections — France, Germany look for stability as populism prospers

As elsewhere in Europe, Italy has seen the rise of populist politicians in recent years who have capitalized on public anger over the influx of migrants — many of whom are picked up in the Mediterranean and taken to Italian ports — and the refusal of other European countries to take in a share of the new arrivals.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.</s>Armed French border patrol agents have caused anger by crossing into Italy and entering a migrant clinic at a railway station.

Italian politicians have summoned the French ambassador Christian Masset to Rome over the controversy, in which five officers forced a Nigerian migrant to undergo a urine test.

French representatives have said the country has the right to use the facility at Bardonecchia train station in the city of Turin, citing a 1990 agreement.

But Italy has said it told French customs authorities this month that the train station room was now off-limits, and added that talks had been scheduled in Turin on 16 April to discuss the situation.

They said this was because the humanitarian aid group Rainbow4Africa was there to provide care and counselling for migrants seeking to make a dangerous Alpine crossing into France.

The migrant clinic is located roughly half a mile inside the Italian border.

Rainbow4Africa raised the alarm at what it called a "raid" on Friday night.

The organisation said in a statement: "French border agents entered - armed - the clinic run in Bardonecchia, forcing a migrant to a urine test and intimidating our doctor and the mediators and lawyers."

Rainbow4Africa added that the French officers "seriously interfered" with the work of a non-governmental organisation.

The aid group added that France should change its strict policy on rejecting migrants.

Italy has received around 600,000 migrants in the past four years.

The French government has said officials asked for permission to enter the site and were allowed in.

It added that the customs officials boarded a train travelling into Italy because they suspected a Nigerian passenger was carrying drugs.

The urine test result later came back as negative.

A volunteer who saw the incident told Sky TG24 that the Nigerian had Italian identity papers and a valid Paris-Naples train ticket.

The French budget ministry said its border agents asked to use the facility to respect the rights of the man on the train.

The Italian foreign ministry said that during its consultations with the French Ambassador it lodged its "firm protest" over the "unacceptable" behaviour of the French agents, and warned that border cooperation was now undermined.

Bardonecchia Mayor Francesco Avato said the border patrols had no right to enter the facility, which he said the city operates with Rainbow4Africa as a "neutral" space to try to persuade migrants not to make the crossing.

French and Austrian border patrol agents have stepped up their checks along Italy's northern border to prevent migrants from entering their countries on trains, trucks or even on foot across the snow-covered mountains, an option that more and more desperate migrants are attempting despite the cold and danger.</s>The Italian foreign ministry summoned France’s ambassador on Saturday, after uniformed French customs officers crossed the border to confront a man suspected of carrying drugs.

France insisted the presence of its personnel at an alpine railway station just inside Italy was acceptable.

However, the French ambassador, Christian Masset, was summoned over what Rome called “a serious act considered outside the scope of cooperation between states sharing a border”.

The foreign ministry added that the neighbouring countries would address the issue further at a meeting in Turin on 16 April.

The dispute began late on Friday when the French officials turned up at a train station in the Italian alpine village of Bardonecchia and told a man to provide a urine sample. The Rainbow4Africa NGO, which has for months occupied part of the train station to help migrants headed for France, filed a complaint about the treatement of the man, who is from Nigeria.

Italian officials reacted with outrage, prompting an official explanatory statement from the French embassy.

Gerald Darmanin, the French minister charged with overseeing customs, signed the statement which explained how French officials came to be present when the Paris-bound train arrived from Milan.

“These uniformed agents identified as French customs officials suspected one passenger, a Nigerian national resident in Italy, of having drugs on his person.

“In line with article 60 bis of the customs code the agents asked the person if he would consent to providing a urine sample to detect drugs which he agreed to do in writing,” the statement read.

“In order to carry out the test in conditions respecting the person, the agents waited until the train arrived to use the facility at Bardonecchia station which was placed at the disposal of French customs,” the statement went on, saying the procedure respected guidelines laid down in 1990.

The French officials duly carried out the test which came back negative.

But the Italian foreign ministry said France had failed to keep them fully abreast of developments, and criticised the incident as “unacceptable”.

Matteo Salvini, the head of Italy’s far-right League, commented that Rome, “instead of expelling Russian diplomats should remove French diplomats”, referring to the furore over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain, widely blamed on Moscow.</s>ROME (AP) — Italy summoned the French ambassador for consultations Saturday after armed French border patrol agents used an Italian train station to force a Nigerian train passenger provide a urine sample for a drug test.

France said it had a right to use the facility at the Bardonecchia train station west of Turin, citing a 1990 agreement.

But Italy shot back, saying just this month it had told French customs authorities that the station room was now off-limits because a humanitarian aid group was there to provide care and counseling for migrants seeking to make the dangerous Alpine crossing into France.

The incident underscored the heightened tensions following Italy's inconclusive March 4 election, which became a referendum on Italy's management of the European migrant crisis. Populist, right-wing and anti-immigrant parties scored big, capitalizing on Italian anger with the migrant influx and refusal of other European governments to share the burden.

The humanitarian group Rainbow4Africa had raised the alarm at what it called a "raid" Friday night by five armed French border agents. It accused the agents of intimidating its doctor and other workers at Baronecchia and of violating the rights of the Nigerian passenger in their custody.

A volunteer who saw the incident told Sky TG24 that the Nigerian had Italian identity papers and a valid Paris-Naples train ticket.

The French budget ministry said its rail agents asked to use the facility to respect the rights of the man on the train, whom they suspected of having drugs on him. It cited a 1990 agreement allowing such use of the room, and added that the urine test turned out negative.

Italy, however, said French authorities were well aware the room was no longer available. It said French and Italian talks were even planned in Turin on April 16 to discuss further cooperation.

The foreign ministry said during its consultations with French Ambassador Christian Masset it lodged its "firm protest" over the "unacceptable" behavior of the French agents, and warned that border cooperation was now undermined.

Bardonecchia Mayor Francesco Avato said the French had no right to enter the facility, which he said the city operates with Rainbow4Africa as a "neutral" space to try to persuade migrants not to make the crossing.

Former Italian Premier Enrico Letta denounced the French move as the latest error by one of Italy's partners in Europe.

"And Europe wonders about the outcome of Italy's election!" he tweeted.

French and Austrian border patrol agents have stepped up their checks along Italy's northern border to prevent migrants from entering their countries aboard trains, trucks or even on foot across the snow-covered mountains, an option that more and more desperate migrants are attempting despite the cold and danger.</s>ROME (AP) — Italy summoned the French ambassador Saturday after French border patrol agents used an Italian train station facility to have a Nigerian train passenger provide a urine sample for a drug test.

France said it had a right to intervene.

The humanitarian group Rainbow4Africa, which helps migrants at the Bardonecchia train station west of Turin, denounced what it called a "raid" on Friday night in their station workspace and accused the five armed French border agents of intimidating its doctor, cultural mediators and lawyers working there.

But French authorities said their border agents had the right to use the Italian facility according to a 1990 agreement. In a statement, the French budget ministry, which is responsible for the railway agents, said they asked to use the facility to better respect the rights of the Nigerian, whom they suspected aboard the train of having drugs on him.

A volunteer who witnessed the incident told Sky TG24 that the Nigerian had Italian identity papers and a valid Paris-Naples train ticket.

The urine test turned out negative, the French statement added. The French said they were more than willing to explain the details to Italian authorities.

An Italian foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the consultations were ongoing, confirmed the French ambassador had been summoned.

Italian officials were outraged at the incident, with Bardonecchia Mayor Francesco Avato saying the French had no right to enter the facility, which he said the city operates with Rainbow4Africa as a "neutral" space to try to persuade migrants not to make the dangerous Alpine crossing into France.

Former Premier Enrico Letta denounced the "raid" as the latest error committed by one of Italy's partners in Europe's migration crisis.

"And Europe wonders about the outcome of Italy's election!" he tweeted, referring to the March 4 victory of right-wing, anti-immigrant forces who capitalized on Italians' anger over the influx of migrants and refusal of other European countries to take in a share of the migrants.

French and Austrian border patrol agents have stepped up checks along Italy's northern frontier to prevent migrants from entering their countries aboard trains, trucks or even on foot across the snow-covered mountains, an option that more and more desperate migrants are attempting despite the cold and the danger.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>ROME: Italy's Foreign Ministry on Saturday (Mar 31) summoned the French ambassador to explain why armed French border police entered a clinic run by a non-governmental organisation that cares for migrants trying to cross the Alps, a ministry source said.

The incident prompted anger among many politicians, some of whom saw it as a violation of Italian territory.

Rainbow for Africa said the incident happened on Friday evening when the French police brought a Nigerian migrant to the train station of the Italian border town of Bardonecchia.

The NGO said the police entered the clinic, which is in the train station, and demanded that the personnel conduct a urine test on the man because they suspected him of drug trafficking.

Massimiliano Fedriga of the right-wing League, which made big gains in the Mar 4 election, said the French had made Italy look like "the laughing stock of Europe".

"French police do whatever they want on Italian territory without being disturbed as if they are at home. What happened in Bardonecchia is grave and shows how our so-called friends in Europe have little or no consideration for us," he said in a statement.</s>ROME (AP) — The Latest on the spat between Italy and France over French border guards' actions at an Italian train station (all times local):

Italy is disputing France's claim that its border control agents had a right to use an Italian train station facility to carry out a drug test on a Nigerian man taken off a Paris-Naples train.

France has asserted that its guards were entitled to use the Bardonecchia station in Italy based on a 1990 agreement.

But in a statement Saturday after Italy summoned France's ambassador for consultations, the foreign ministry said it had told French customs officials this month that the facility was no longer available because a humanitarian group was now using it.

That aid group, Rainbow4Africa, had raised the alarm at what it called a "raid" Friday night by five armed French border agents.

Italy said it had expressed its "firm protest" about the French agents' "unacceptable" conduct and said the two countries would meet April 16 in Turin for further talks.

French authorities say armed French border agents were allowed to enter a northern Italian train station facility, following accusations that they allegedly forced a Nigerian migrant to give a urine sample for a drug test.

France's budget ministry, in charge of supervising border agents, says agents suspected the Nigerian man, an Italian resident who was on a train Friday from Paris to Milan, of carrying drugs. The ministry says the man agreed to take a drug test, performed in a facility of the Italian train station of Bardonnechia.

It says the French agents could use the place in accordance with a 1990 agreement.

French authorities say they are ready to discuss the situation with Italian authorities to "avoid any incident in the future."

The Italian foreign ministry says it has summoned the French ambassador for consultations after French border patrol agents allegedly entered and used an Italian train station facility to perform a drug test on a Nigerian migrant.

A foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the consultations were ongoing, said the ambassador was summoned Saturday afternoon.

The humanitarian group Rainbow4Africa, which helps migrants at the Bardonecchia crossing west of Turin, accused the five armed French border agents of intimidating its doctor, cultural mediators and lawyers inside the facility on Friday night.

Bardonecchia Mayor Francesco Avato said the French had no right to enter the facility, which he said the city operates with Rainbow4Africa as a "neutral" space to try to persuade migrants not to make the dangerous Alpine crossing into France.

Italian officials have denounced French border agents for allegedly entering a northern Italian train station facility to force a Nigerian migrant to give a urine sample for a drug test.

The humanitarian group Rainbow4Africa, which helps migrants at the Bardonecchia crossing west of Turin, accused the five armed French border agents of entering the train station facility and intimidating its doctor, cultural mediators and lawyers on Friday night.

Bardonecchia Mayor Francesco Avato said Saturday that the French had no right to enter the facility, which he said the city operates with Rainbow4Africa as a "neutral" space to try to persuade migrants not to make the dangerous Alpine crossing into France.

A volunteer who witnessed the incident told Sky TG24 that the Nigerian had Italian identity papers, a valid Paris-Naples train ticket and that his urine test was negative.

Former Premier Enrico Letta denounced the "raid" as the latest error committed by one of Italy's partners in Europe's migration crisis.
The French ambassador to Italy is summoned to the Italian foreign ministry to explain an incident in which French police cross over the sovereign border of Italy, enter a migrant clinic in Turin, and force a refugee to take a urine test.