Two Australian diplomats to be among 59 expelled by RussiaMoscow has given two Australian diplomats a week to leave Russia in retaliation for Canberra’s expulsion of two alleged Kremlin spies earlier this week. The two Australians are among 59 officials expelled from Russia in the latest escalation of tensions over the nerve agent attack on the former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in the UK this month. “This is a disappointing, although not unexpected, reaction by the Russian government to the decision of the Australian government to expel two Russian diplomats working as undeclared intelligence officers,” they said. Turnbull and Bishop again called on Russia to explain how a Soviet-era military-grade nerve agent was used in the attack in Salisbury. In a lengthy press conference on Wednesday, Logvinov said Australia was involved in a “well-orchestrated campaign” to discredit and attack Russia.

Source: The Guardian March 30, 2018 22:09 UTC