Trump expels 60 Russian diplomats in wake of UK nerve agent attack

YEREVAN, MARCH 26, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump is ordering the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats and the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, Washington, in the wake of the UK nerve agent attack, the White House announced Monday, CNN reported.

The US President is taking the action in response to the poisonings of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in England, the administration announced.

Forty-eight of the diplomats work at the Russian embassy and a dozen at the United Nations in New York. They and their families will have seven days to leave the country.

"The United States takes this action in conjunction with our NATO allies and partners around the world in response to Russia's use of military grade chemical weapons on the soil of the United Kingdom, the latest in this ongoing pattern of destabilizing activities around the world," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

On 4 March 2018,Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer, and his daughter Yulia, visiting him from Moscow, were poisoned with aNovichoknerve agentinSalisbury, England.As of 13March2018,they remain critically ill atSalisbury District Hospital.The poisoning is being investigated by British authorities asattempted murder.

The United Kingdom believes it is "highly likely" that the Russian government was behind the attack. Russia denies any involvement.

English –translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan