Britain names Russian diplomats to be expelled

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Russian Ambassador to the UK had been summoned to the UK Home Office before UK foreign minister David Miliband made his statement about expelling Russian diplomats from the UK, and the British side named the four Russian diplomats to be expelled, a source in the Russian embassy in the UK told reporters. According to the source, the most “draconian” time limits in such cases were from 24 to 48 hours, however, in this case, the matter did not concern such tough conditions from the British side. “The diplomats take mid-level positions,” the source is quoted as saying by Vesti.

Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced: “Actions of the official London look like a pre-planned action aimed at politicizing the investigation of the so-called Litvinenko case, on which the Russian side is ready to cooperate, but on a strictly professional basis only. The British side knows perfectly well that the Constitution of the Russian Federation envisages no possibility of extraditing a Russian citizen to other countries. Our position corresponds with the European Convention on Extradition that allows a member-country deny extradition of its citizens.”

Earlier, London reacted to the Moscow’s refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, who is charged by the British prosecution with murder of ex-FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko, by expelling four Russian diplomats and toughening visa regime. Before that, the Russian government proposed to the UK to try Lugovoi in Russia under the Russian law, if London provides proofs of his involvement in killing Litvinenko.