May responds to Russia’s expulsion of UK diplomats

Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday delivered her response to the expulsion of 23 British diplomats by the Russian government.

Speaking at the annual Conservative Party’s spring conference, May said: “In light of their [Russia’s] previous behavior, we anticipated a response of this kind and we will consider our next steps in the coming days, alongside our allies and partners.”

The premier’s comments follow the expulsion of 23 British diplomats by the Russian government after the U.K. government expelled 23 Russian diplomats in response to the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

“But 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,” she said. “It is Russia that is in flagrant breach of international law and the Chemical Weapons Convention”.

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were admitted to a hospital on March 4 after being found unconscious in Salisbury.

May said the duo was poisoned with a military grade nerved agent developed by Russia.

“I also set out the action we are taking in response, action to dismantle the Russian espionage network in the U.K., to develop new powers to tackle hostile state activity, and the suspension of all planned high-level contact between the U.K. and the Russian Federation,” she said.

The recent events have brought Anglo-Russian relations to an all-time low and increase the risk of escalation.