Britain has expelled a Russian diplomat suspected of spying, with Russia responding by expelling a Briton in the latest skirmish in a long-running spat over espionage.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said today that Britain had asked the Russian Embassy in London to withdraw a staff member on December 10 "in response to clear evidence of activities by the Russian intelligence services against U.K. interests."
Russia, in return, expelled a diplomat from the British Embassy in Moscow.
U.K.-Russia relations soured after the 2006 poisoning death in London of former Russian agent Aleksandr Litvinenko.
Russia has refused to extradite Britain's main suspect in the case, former KGB officer Andrei Lugovoi.
-- Reuters
Foreign Secretary William Hague said today that Britain had asked the Russian Embassy in London to withdraw a staff member on December 10 "in response to clear evidence of activities by the Russian intelligence services against U.K. interests."
Russia, in return, expelled a diplomat from the British Embassy in Moscow.
U.K.-Russia relations soured after the 2006 poisoning death in London of former Russian agent Aleksandr Litvinenko.
Russia has refused to extradite Britain's main suspect in the case, former KGB officer Andrei Lugovoi.
-- Reuters
