The Russian foreign ministry has given Britain one month to cut its entire diplomatic staff to match Russia’s own mission to the UK as the fallout following the Salisbury poisoning intensified.

The move could see scores of employees in the British embassy in Moscow and consulates in St Petersburg and Ekaterinburg dismissed from their jobs.

Laurie Bristow, Britain’s ambassador to Moscow, was summoned for talks and told to reduce staff at his embassy and the consulates to mirror the exact size of Russia’s diplomatic mission in the UK. Russia has an embassy in London and consulate in Edinburgh.

Although the Foreign Office refused to say whether this meant Russia was effectively increasing the number of diplomats it was expelling, a spokeswoman described the latest development as “regrettable” but “anticipated”.

The Russian ministry, in a statement, said it had summoned the British ambassador to the foreign ministry building and handed him a note of protest.

It said Britain's "provocative actions" had led to the decision by multiple Western governments to expel scores of Russian diplomats from their capitals.</s>Russia says Britain has one month to reduce diplomatic presence: foreign ministry

Also Russia on Friday informed the Dutch ambassador of the expulsion of two diplomats in a tit-for-tat measure over the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Britain, TASS state news agency reported.

Dutch Ambassador Renee Jones-Bos told TASS state news agency: “Two of my colleagues are leaving Moscow. But we (the embassy) are staying here.”

More so on Friday Russia government summoned European ambassadors to the foreign ministry to inform them of retaliatory measures to the expulsion of Russian diplomats over the poisoning of a former Russian double-agent in Britain.

Ambassadors from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia as well as several non-EU member countries arrived on Friday afternoon, an AFP photographer saw.
The Putin administration gives the government of the United Kingdom one month to reduce its diplomatic missions' sizes to mirror those of the Russian ones in Britain.