Russia to speak on relations with Britain today

MOSCOW, July 19 (Reuters) Russia's Foreign Ministry said today that its chief spokesman Mikhail Kamynin would hold a news conference on Russian-British relations at (1830 hrs IST).

The ministry said Kamynin would read a statement and no questions would be taken. It gave no further details.

The ministry had earlier given a different time for the news conference but did not explain the change.

Britain has been awaiting Moscow's response to its decision to expel four Russian diplomats from London over Russia's refusal to extradite a murder suspect. Russia says its constitution bans extradition.

Russia has promised an ''adequate and targeted'' response but has not said what it will do, only that it would try to avoid damaging the interests of ordinary people and businessmen.

Previous expulsions of diplomats traditionally provoked a tit-for-tat response. The last time Moscow and London expelled each other's diplomats was in 1996 during a spying row.

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