British Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced on Monday that Britain will expel four diplomats from Russian embassy in London in response to Russia's refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoi accused by Britain of murdering former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko.
Speaking at the House of Commons, Miliband said "This is a situation the government has not sought and does not welcome. But we have no choice but to address it."
Britain would need "an appropriate response" due to Russia's failure to cooperate to find a solution, said he.
"Our aims are clear: first to advance our judicial process, second to bring home to the Russian government the consequences of their failure to cooperate and third to emphasize our commitment to promoting the safety of British citizens and visitors," said he.
Miliband said "I have therefore agreed with colleagues across Government the following steps."
"First, we will expel four diplomats from the Russian Embassy in London," said he.
"Second, we shall review the extent of our cooperation with Russia on a range of issues and as an initial step we have suspended visa facilitation negotiations with Russia and made other changes to visa practice," he said.
"Third, international agreements mean Mr. Lugovoi could be extradited to the UK if he traveled abroad. Fourth, we are grateful for the strong support we have received from EU partners and close allies, including through the EU Presidency statement on 1 June," he added.
Last Tuesday, Britain condemned Russia's refusal to extradite the main suspect over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko as " unacceptable."
"We've consistently said that the murder of Mr. Litvinenko is a serious criminal matter," a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said.
"The Russian reply is unacceptable. We will consider our response with the deliberation and seriousness that it deserves," said she.
A Downing Street spokesman also said that Russia's response was "extremely disappointing."
On July 5, Russia's Prosecutor General's Office formally rejected Britain's request for the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi, the main suspect in the murder of former Russian Federal Security Service officer Litvinenko.
Russia has said the refusal to turn over Lugovoi was based on a constitutional ban on turning Russian citizens over to foreign countries, as well as a European convention that allows signatories to refuse to extradite their nationals.
Source: Xinhua
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