Russian
media on Thursday accused British Prime Minister Theresa May of having
“poisoned” relations with Moscow by announcing the expulsion of diplomats in
response to the poisoning of a former double agent with a nerve agent.
“Theresa May
has poisoned relations between London and Moscow,” Nezavisimaya Gazeta
headlined its front-page story.
Kommersant
business daily accused Britain of seeking “toxic responses.”
“The crisis
in relations between Moscow and London has reached a new peak,” it said.
May “tried
to accuse Russia of every sin under the Sun,” wrote popular pro-Kremlin tabloid
Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Another
pro-Kremlin daily, broadsheet Izvestia, wrote that Russia will respond “at
least in a symmetrical way” to the expulsions, meaning it would expel the same
number of diplomats.
But
“Russia’s reaction could be also be more wide-reaching,” it predicted, citing
diplomatic sources.
“Await a
response,” Izvestia headlined its story.
“A seemingly
emerging warming in relations with London has turned into a long-lasting
frost,” wrote popular daily Moskovsky Komsomolets.
But it
predicted that “Russia can bear it all without bowing down.”
Former
Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found in a serious condition
in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.
British
experts say the pair were poisoned with a nerve agent which was developed by
the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
May on
Wednesday in parliament announced a number of moves including the expulsion of
23 diplomats and the suspension of high-level contacts with Russia.
Russia’s
foreign ministry slammed the measures as an “unprecedentedly rude provocation.”
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