Germany expels 4 Russian diplomats over spy poisoning

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - Germany on Friday announced its decision to expel four Russian diplomats over the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Britain.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced Berlin’s decision on Twitter.

“Today we have expelled four Russian diplomats from Germany,” he said.

“This is a signal of solidarity with Great Britain,” he added.

Maas slammed Moscow for not cooperating with Britain in the investigation into the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

“Since the poisoning attack in Salisbury, Russia has still not contributed to shed light on the incident,” he said.

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were admitted to a hospital on March 4 after being found unconscious in the southern English city of Salisbury.

Skripal was granted refuge in the U.K. following a 2010 spy exchange between the U.S. and Russia. Before the exchange, he was serving 13 years in prison for leaking information to British intelligence.

On March 16, the Investigative Committee of Russia launched its own probe into the Skripal case.

Last week, following an EU summit in Brussels, the U.K., Germany, and France reaffirmed that the Russian state was responsible for the nerve agent poisoning of Skripal and his daughter