Four Canadian diplomats expelled from Russia, Global Affairs says

OTTAWA — Global Affairs Canada says four Canadian diplomats have been expelled from Russia as the dispute between the Kremlin and the West escalates over the alleged poisoning of a former spy and his daughter earlier this month.

In an email Friday, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minster Chrystia Freeland says the diplomats have been declared “persona non grata” by the Russian government, and efforts were underway for those affected to return to Canada.

The move comes after Freeland announced Monday the expulsion of four Russian diplomats from Canada as the U.S. and more than a dozen European allies took similar actions against dozens of Russian diplomats in their own countries.

On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow summoned the U.S. ambassador to announce the expulsion of 60 U.S. diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to Washington’s move.

Nearly two dozen ambassadors from other countries followed suit Friday.

The expulsions follow the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the British city of Salisbury on March 4 by what has been described as a militarygrade nerve agent.

A hospital treating the Skripals said Thursday that 33-yearold Yulia was improving rapidly and is now in stable condition, although her 66-year-old father remained in critical condition.

The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the attack on Skripal, who served as a double agent for British intelligence before he was arrested by Russian authorities and later transferred to the U.K. in a spy swap.

But Western governments have nonetheless blamed Russia for what Freeland has described as a “despicable, heinous and reckless act, potentially endangering the lives of hundreds.”

Adam Austen, Freeland’s press secretary, said Canada’s decision to expel the Russian officials earlier in the week was done “in solidarity with our close ally, the United Kingdom.”

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to answer for Russia’s role in the nerve gas attack. The next day, the Russian embassy accused Trudeau of using confrontational and unproductive rhetoric.