Spain joins nations expelling Russian diplomats

Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says authorities are expelling two diplomats from the Russian embassy in Madrid, adding that it considers the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England as an incident of “extreme gravity.”

The ministry says in a statement that the March 4 poisoning “represents a serious threat to our collective safety and to international laws.” It does not identify the Russian diplomats in an emailed statement, but says that both have been told to abandon Spanish territory.

The US and more than a dozen European nations announced coordinated expulsions of Russian diplomats on Monday, in solidarity with Britain, which blames Russia for the attack.

— AP