19/07/2007 Is it a beginning of a new phase of the Russian-British relations? Or is it just not more than a diplomatic row between the two countries?
Russia announced Thursday the tit-for-tat expulsion of four British diplomats, a visa ban on British officials and the suspension of bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation amid a mounting diplomatic row.
"The British ambassador has been officially notified that four British embassy employees have been declared persona non grata," foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said.
The diplomats have been given 10 days to leave the country, Kamynin said.
The row erupted after Russia last week refused to extradite the man Britain accuses of the London murder last year of former Russian agent and fierce Kremlin critic, Alexander Litvinenko.
On Monday, Britain ordered the expulsion of four Russian diplomats and announced unspecified visa restrictions on Russian government officials, citing Moscow's refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB agent.
Russia said the measures would have "the most serious consequences" on Russian-British relations, and analysts said the dispute was reminiscent of stand-offs during the Cold War years.
In response to British restrictions on visas for Russian officials, "Russian officials will not request British visas, and visa applications by British government officials will not be considered," Kamynin said.
"Unfortunately the measures announced by the authorities in London make impossible future cooperation between Russia and Britain in the struggle against terrorism," he added.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband condemned Moscow's retaliatory expulsions as "completely unjustified". Russia announced broad intelligence cooperation with Western countries including Britain in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
Kamynin on Thursday said the measures announced by London were "unfriendly and provocative" and called for "common sense" to prevail in the row, adding: "Moscow did not pick this fight."
The United States and European Union have thrown their weight behind London in the crisis, with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying Thursday that Moscow should extradite Lugovoi.
"Russia should honor the extradition request and Russia should cooperate fully," Rice told Britain's Sky News television.
"A terrible crime was committed on British soil and Britain has to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice," she said.
The EU's Portuguese presidency on Wednesday voiced "disappointment" with Russia and called on Moscow to cooperate with the British investigation and France earlier expressed full solidarity with Britain.
In response to the EU's criticism, Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's EU representative, described on Thursday the EU statement as "an unpleasant surprise" and said it would "certainly affect" relations between Moscow and Brussels. The Russian constitution forbids Russia from extraditing its own citizens, but Britain insists that Moscow could hand over Lugovoi, under the terms of an international convention it has signed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier were due to meet in Berlin on Friday to discuss the diplomatic row. On Wednesday, Steinmeier had expressed his hope that the row would not be allowed to escalate into "a crisis".
Numerous Russian politicians have accused Britain of double standards in refusing to extradite Boris Berezovksy, the billionaire oligarch who has called for the overthrow of Putin in interviews with different media.