British Prime Minister Theresa May (Sydney Morning Herald)
Today, (Malcolm Turnbull) government announced the expulsion of two Russian "undeclared intelligence officers" in response to the case of former Russian spies in Britain and China, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
(Sergei Skripal), a former Russian spy, and his daughter, Yulia (Yulia Skripal), were attacked by nerve gas in Britain this month, and Russia`s government was accused of being behind it. The United Kingdom and Russia earlier expelled diplomats from each other; yesterday, the United States, Canada and several European Union countries expelled Russian diplomats in response.
On 27 March, Prime Minister Tan Bao and Foreign Minister Bi Xiao (Julie Bishop) said in a statement: "two Russian diplomats were identified as undeclared intelligence officers who, in accordance with the Vienna Convention (Vienna Conventions), did not act in accordance with their identities. As a result, will be deported by Australia`s government. The two officials will be led out of Australia within seven days. The decision reflects the shocking nature of the attack-the first time chemical weapons have been used in Europe since World War II, dropping highly lethal substances in densely populated areas and putting countless members of the community at risk. "
Australia agrees with Britain`s belief that the nerve gas used in the attack is a military-grade substance developed by Russia, and calls for a full disclosure of the size of its chemical weapons programme, Mr. Tan and Mr. Bixiao said. The statement said: "this attack is a reckless act of Russia, international security, global opposition to the use of chemical weapons non-proliferation rules, The rights of other sovereignty countries, as well as the rule-based international order in support of related rights, pose an increasing threat. "
British Prime Minister Theresa May (Theresa May) praised the "largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officials in history" and thanked allies.
Russia`s president`s press secretary, Peskov (Dmitry Peskov), immediately warned that retaliatory measures would be taken against countries that support Britain.
Russian Ambassador to Australia Logvanov (Grigory Logvinov), in an interview with Fefas Media this month, hinted that Russia would not rule out a sanctions war against Australia if Australia were to boycott Russia over a spying drug case. He said: "in recent years, we have made some limited progress in our relationship, if this is damaged, of course it is regrettable."
Logovenov said Russia had no incentive to use nerve gas, and the British authorities acted "arrogant" and "nonsense." He said it was Australia`s sovereignty right to support the UK, but "we regret that you are not willing to listen to everything."
Lugvinov refers to Russia and Bixiao or Tanbao "bad relations." "We have no close partnership or ally with Australia," he said.
