Expulsion of Russian diplomats: Be ready for consequences, thunders Moscow

After 21 countries expelled over 100 Russian diplomats to protest its likely act of poisoning an ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, Moscow on Monday thundered saying it will take "appropriate" retaliatory measures against each country that took the extreme steps and also respond to the US administration's shutting down the Russian consulate in Seattle. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a Russian channel, the country's news agency TASS said.

Zakharova said Russia will give a response to "everything we saw today".

The Donald Trump administration gave marching orders to 60 Russian diplomats stationed in the US, including 12 members of Russia's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. The Russian consulate in Seattle was also closed.

The US's steps came in the wake of a number of European countries expelling Russian diplomats from their territory on the pretext that Russia has poisoned the Skripals in Salisbury in England which was seen as a violation of border and also international law.

The father-daughter duo was exposed to a nerve agent, which according to UK, was made in Russia and hence the Kremlin was accused of attempting an assassination on foreign soil. Russia rubbished the allegations saying neither the former Soviet Union earlier nor it today had any plans to develop such a dangerous substance.

The UK then expelled 23 Russian diplomats and threatened to take more measures against Russia. The latter then retaliated by expelling an equal number of British diplomats besides ordering closing down of the British consulate in St Petersburg and British Council's offices located in Russia.

'Russia knew what was coming'

Zakharova further called the UK's performance "devilish" and said those who actually benefited from this were powerful forces based in the US and Britain. She said the Kremlin had knowledge of what was coming and braced for the outcome after the recent European Union summit, the TASS report added.

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