The authorities refused to expel Russian diplomats accredited to the European Union. This step is in fact equated with a break in diplomatic relations between Belgium and Russia, and Brussels is not interested in this. This was announced by the head of the Cabinet of Ministers, Charles Michel. The proposal to send "about 20 diplomats" from each EU country was voiced at the summit of the association, which was held in Brussels on March 22-23. On such a step after the attempt on the former colonel GRU Sergei Skripal went to the UK authorities. Some European countries have expressed their readiness to join the demarche. Among them - France, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark and Ireland, as well as the USA. The Belgian authorities blocked this decision. According to Michel, the expulsion of two dozen embassy employees means the actual "nullification of the diplomatic corps". "It is necessary to maintain a dialogue with Russia, retaining the ambassador, as does the United Kingdom itself, which does not withdraw the ambassador from Moscow," the local newspaper Le Soir quoted the head of government. However, the EU countries have not yet said the last word. Their representatives agreed to "coordinate their response" with regard to Russia. Moscow, for its part, warned the Western countries that, in response to the expulsion of diplomats,. "Any such decision must be met with a mirror by the Russian side. Each of our opponents must clearly understand: he takes such decisions not only in relation to the number of Russian diplomatic personnel in the country, but with respect to the total number of his diplomatic representations, "the Izvestia quotes Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the international committee of the Federation Council. At home, there were already sent 23 British diplomats.

At the same time, a corresponding warning was sent to the United States. Washington should "wisely" influence London in the situation with the poisoning of the Skrypal, the statement of the Russian embassy in the US says. Now the "calm and professional" search for truth and the joint work to prevent such tragedies in the future are important. The White House "still has time to prevent the negative consequences of this false history in the name of the remaining positive in Russian-American relations". Relations between Russia and the United States are multi-layered, and "strategic stability of the whole world" depends on them, therefore Moscow and Washington should not become "hostages of obviously staged events," diplomats noted..

Ex-Colonel GRU Sergey Skripal and his daughter Julia were found unconscious on March 4 in the street in Salisbury, where they live. According to preliminary data from the British investigators, the victims were poisoned with the nerve agent "Novice", which was developed in the Soviet Union. Official London accused Russia of having attempted to squeak and threatened her with harsh diplomatic measures. In Moscow, they deny involvement in the incident and call this story a provocation.