US expels 60 Russian diplomats over UK spy attack

UK.

A dozen of these expelled diplomats are based at Russia's Permanent Mission to the UN.

"On Monday President Donald J Trump ordered the expulsion of dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle due to its proximity to one of our submarine bases and Boeing," said the White House Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders.

All Russian diplomats, connected to the country's intelligence agencies, and their families have been given seven days' time to leave the country.

According to an unnamed official, Trump's move to expel 60 Russian officials is the largest ever mass expulsion of Russian officials from the United States.

The US move was followed by 14 European Union member states who expelled a number of Russian diplomats in a coordinated response.

Germany, France and Poland have said they will each expel four Russia diplomats, the Czech Republic and Lithuania three, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands two, and Latvia one.

The White House said the expulsion is in retaliation to the use of nerve agent against former spy Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom, which blames Russia for the attack.

Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, both remain critically ill in hospital in Britain.

Moscow has denied these allegations. The United Kingdom has already expelled 23 Russian diplomats.

The United States takes this action in conjunction with its NATO allies and partners around the world in response to Russia's use of a military-grade chemical weapon on the soil of the United Kingdom, the latest in its ongoing pattern of destabilising activities around the world, Sanders said.

"On Monday's actions make the United States safer by reducing Russia's ability to spy on Americans and to conduct covert operations that threaten America's national security. With these steps, the United States and our allies and partners make clear to Russia that its actions have consequences," she said.

She said the US stands ready to cooperate to build a better relationship with Russia, but this can only happen with a change in the Russian government's behaviour.

There are 100 Russian intelligence officials based in the US. This is the first step, a senior Trump administration official told reporters during a conference call. The US reserves the right to expel more, the official added.