The United States
and its European allies are expelling dozens of Russian diplomats in a
co-ordinated response to the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the
UK.
It is said to be the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history.
More than 20 countries have aligned with the UK, expelling more than 100 diplomats.
Russia vowed to retaliate to the "provocative gesture".
Russia
denies any role in the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter,
Yulia, in Salisbury, southern England. The pair remain in a critical but
stable condition in hospital.
EU leaders agreed last week it was highly likely Russia was behind the nerve-agent poisoning.
Mrs
May said: "President Putin's regime is carrying out acts of aggression
against our shared values and interests within our continent and beyond.
"And as a sovereign European democracy, the United Kingdom will
stand shoulder to shoulder with the EU and with Nato to face down these
threats together."
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also praised the "extraordinary international response" by the UK's allies.
Media captionBoris Johnson on widespread expulsions of Russian diplomatsThe Russian foreign ministry said the moves demonstrated a continuation of a "confrontational path".
"It
goes without saying that this unfriendly act by this group of countries
will not go without notice and we will react to it," its statement
said.
Remarkable show of solidarity
By Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent
This is building into the most serious diplomatic crisis between Russia and the West since Moscow's seizure of Crimea.
Whatever
the denials, Britain's allies have clearly accepted its view that the
use of a military grade nerve agent in Salisbury was "highly likely" the
work of the Russian state.
The collective expulsions from the US
and EU member states is a remarkable show of solidarity with Britain,
even more so because it comes at a time when UK-EU relations are
strained due to the Brexit negotiations.
Donald Tusk's note that there could be "additional measures" is a signal to Moscow as it considers how it will respond.
It
is a significant diplomatic victory for Prime Minister Theresa May -
concerted action has now followed the strong rhetorical support from its
allies. It also marks a significant toughening of the Trump
administration's stance towards Moscow.
Who is expelling diplomats?
The UK announced it was expelling 23 Russian diplomats earlier this month.
Various countries announced they were making the same move in solidarity on Monday. These are:
US: 60 diplomats
EU countries: France (4); Germany (4); Poland (4);
Czech Republic (3); Lithuania (3); Denmark (2); Netherlands (2); Italy
(2); Spain (2); Estonia (1); Croatia (1); Finland (1); Hungary (1);
Latvia (1); Romania (1); Sweden (1)
Ukraine: 13
Canada: 4, plus the rejection of 3 further applications from Russia
Albania: 2
Australia: 2
Norway: 1
Macedonia: 1
Iceland has also announced it is suspending high-level dialogue
with Russian authorities, and its leaders will not attend the World Cup,
which starts in Russia in June.
The UK said earlier this month it would not send ministers or members of the Royal Family to the football tournament.
EU
countries that have said they have no intention of expelling diplomats
include Austria, Greece and Portugal, although all have said they
support the UK and condemn the poisoning.
Why are they doing it?
President
of the European Council Donald Tusk said the EU states had decided to
expel Russian diplomats as a direct result of a meeting, held last week
about the Salisbury poisoning.
"Additional measures, including
further expulsions within this common EU framework are not to be
excluded in the coming days and weeks," he said.
The US state department said in a statement: "On March 4, Russia
used a military-grade nerve agent to attempt to murder a British
citizen and his daughter in Salisbury.
"This attack on our Ally
the United Kingdom put countless innocent lives at risk and resulted in
serious injury to three people, including a police officer."
It called the attack an "outrageous violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and breach of international law".
The
US is expelling 48 envoys at the Russian embassy in Washington and 12
more at the UN in New York. It will also order the closure of the
Russian consulate in Seattle.
US toughens its tone
By Chris Buckler, BBC News, Washington DC
In
a phone call last week with Vladimir Putin, the US president failed to
mention the attack in Salisbury. But he did congratulate Mr Putin on his
re-election, against the advice of his officials.
The deliberate change in tone also demonstrates real concern about Russian activity inside the US, as well as elsewhere.
Alongside
the allegations of election interference two years ago, the Kremlin is
accused of spying and cyber-attacks targeting vital infrastructure in
the US.
Closing the Russian consulate in Seattle reflects those
specific fears - a submarine base and the aerospace firm Boeing are both
close to the city.
Diplomatic retaliation is inevitable. Almost
immediately, the Russian Embassy asked its followers to take part in a
Twitter poll to recommend which US consulate it should close in
response.
US administration🇺🇸 ordered the closure of the Russian Consulate in Seattle @GK_Seattle🇷🇺. What US Consulate General would you close in @Russia, if it was up to you to decide
— Russia in USA 🇷🇺
What are the precedents?
In 1986, US President Ronald Reagan expelled 80 Cold War-era Russian diplomats.
In
2016, the Obama administration expelled 35 Russian diplomats in
response to the alleged hacking of the US Democratic Party and Hillary
Clinton campaign during the 2016 presidential election, accusations
Moscow denied.
Senior US officials told the Associated Press that
Russia had an estimated 100 intelligence officials at its diplomatic
posts in the US, suggesting that dozens will still be left in the
country.
However, the diplomats working at the UN were described
by the US State Department as "intelligence operatives", suggesting it
is looking to hamper more than just administrational work.
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