Putin Hits Back at Uk By Expelling Diplomats

Russia yesterday expelled four British diplomats and banned its officials from travelling to the UK in a move denounced as "completely unjustifiable" by Britain.

In a tit-for-tat response over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, Russia's foreign ministry announced that four UK diplomats had been declared persona non grata. They had 10 days to leave, it said.

Foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin also announced that the Kremlin was suspending its cooperation with the UK in fighting terrorism and would stop issuing visas to British officials. Russian officials would also no longer seek visas for Britain, he said,effectively ending any prospect of face-to-face government contact for the foreseeable future.

Russia's action was "targeted, balanced and the minimum necessary," he said. "To our regret co-operation between Russia and Britain on issues of fighting terrorism becomes impossible."

The Kremlin's response - four days after the foreign secretary, David Miliband, announced that he was expelling four Russian diplomats because of Moscow's failure to co-operate in the investigation into Mr Litvinenko's death - was milder than many expected.

After three days of closed debate inside the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin had decided not to escalate his conflict with Britain, analysts said. Instead, the response was a careful mirror image of the measures unveiled by Mr Miliband.

But the foreign secretary registered Britain's disquiet. He said: "We obviously believe that the decision to expel four embassy staff is completely unjustified and we will be doing everything to ensure that they and their families are properly looked after."

Last night Mr Vladimir Putin made an apparent attempt to reduce the tension. "I think relations between Russia and Britain will develop normally because both countries are interested in this," he said. "It is necessary to measure one's actions against common sense, respect the legitimate interests of partners and everything will be alright. I think we will overcome this mini crisis," he said.

The Russian response notably did not include accusations of British spying - despite claims from Andrei Lugovoi, the former KGB agent charged with Mr Litvinenko's murder - of MI6 involvement.

Sergei Markov, a Kremlin adviser and leading analyst, told the Guardian he felt Mr Putin had refrained from too strong a reaction because "he doesn't want to play the role of the Soviet Union. He doesn't want to have a big conflict with the west." Mr Markov said the ban on British officials traveling to Russia was less draconian than it seemed and would not apply to Mr Miliband or to MPs wanting to visit Russia.

Yesterday afternoon Russia's foreign minister summoned Britain's ambassador in Moscow, Sir Anthony Brenton. He and the Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko discussed the Litvinenko case. Emerging afterwards, the ambassador said: "He gave me certain messages to pass on to the Foreign Office. I have underlined to him my continuing disappointment at Russia's reaction to our request for Mr Lugovoi and our hope that Russia will cooperate."

It is not known which British diplomats have been ordered out. But Kremlin sources said they occupied the same ranks as the Russian diplomats expelled from London on Monday. They are believed to include Russia's naval attaché and three members of Russia's trade mission.

Yesterday's move puts the ball back into the court of the British government, which must now decide whether to pursue further action. The foreign secretary yesterday condemned the expulsion of British diplomats as "completely unjustified".

He said: "We are disappointed that the Russian government should have signaled no new cooperation in the extradition of Mr Andrei Lugovoi for the alleged murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

"We are, however, much heartened that over the last 36 hours across the international community, European countries, the EU as a whole and the United States should have put out such positive statements about the need to defend the integrity of the British judicial system, and that is something that we shall be taking forward with the international community over the next few days and weeks."

Yesterday's tit-for-tat expulsions are likely to be welcomed by British business, which had feared more stringent measures affecting visas.

"There is some hope that both sides will stop competing in their mutual spitting competition," Sergei Karaganov, an analyst with the European Studies Institute in Moscow, told the Guardian.

He added: "Russia has done tit-for-tat. They couldn't have done less. But they could have done much more."

Mr Litvinenko, a former Russian security agent who fled to Britain, died in a London hospital last November from a fatal dose of the extremely rare radioactive isotope polonium-210.

The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, yesterday insisted that Russia should not be isolated.