Britain to expel Russian diplomat in tit-for-tat move

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain said on Thursday it would revoke the accreditation of a Russian diplomat, in retaliation to a similar move made by Moscow last year.

Russia said in November that it was expelling a British diplomat for spying. The accusation was denied by London.

Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement on Thursday that it had summoned the Russian ambassador to announce its decision, saying it was in response to "Russia's unprovoked and baseless decision to strip the accreditation of a British diplomat in Moscow in November".

"Any further action taken by Russia will be considered an escalation and responded to accordingly," the statement added.

The statement, which did not name the British diplomat or the Russian official whose accreditation is due to be revoked, said Britain "will not stand for intimidation of our staff in this way," calling its decision a reciprocal action.

The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Relations between Britain and Russia have plunged to post-Cold War lows since the start of the Ukraine war. Britain has joined successive waves of sanctions against Russia and provided arms to Ukraine.

(Reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Kate Holton)

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