Russia will "certainly" expel British diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to Britain's decision to send 23 Russians home over the poisoning of a former spy, Russia's foreign minister said today.
Sergey Lavrov, speaking in remarks carried by the RIA Novosti news agency, said the move would come "soon," but added that Moscow would inform London through official channels before publicly announcing its countermeasures.
British and Russian officials traded barbs as diplomatic relations plunged to Cold War-era levels of iciness following the nerve-agent poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
Britain blames Russia for the March 4 attack, which has left the pair in critical condition and a police officer seriously ill.
UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson called relations between the two countries "exceptionally chilly" and said Russia should "go away and shut up." Lavrov said British accusations of Moscow's involvement are intended to distract public attention from the UK's troubled exit from the European Union.
He argued that "boorish and unfounded" accusations against Russia "reflect the hopeless situation the British government has found itself in when it can't meet the obligations given to the public in connection with exit from the EU."
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Russia targeted Skripal a former Russian intelligence officer convicted of spying for Britain to make it clear that those who defy the Russian state deserve to "choke on their own 30 pieces of silver."
Johnson said the Russian government wants "simultaneously to deny it and yet at the same time to glory in it."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov wouldn't reveal how Russia will retaliate, but said the decision will come from President Vladimir Putin, "and there is no doubt that he will choose the option that best reflects Russian interests."