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Russia boots 4 Canadian diplomats in tit-for-tat mass expulsion over spy poisoning

Click to play video: 'Russia retaliates, expels diplomats from 19 countries'
Russia retaliates, expels diplomats from 19 countries
WATCH ABOVE: The Kremlin is expelling more diplomats from mainly Western countries, including Canada, as part of the ongoing fallout in the poisoning of a former Russian spy. And as Jeff Semple reports, investigators may have just caught a break in the case – Mar 30, 2018

Russia’s Foreign Ministry says it has informed ambassadors of most of the countries that ordered expulsions of Russian diplomats that an equal number of their diplomats have been declared persona non grata.

A ministry statement Friday said the ambassadors were from 23 of the countries that are expelling Russians in connection with the poisoning in Britain of a former Russian double agent and his daughter.

READ MORE: Russian ex-spy’s daughter ‘improving rapidly’ after nerve agent attack

Four of those being expelled are from the Canadian embassy, according to Sputnik, the Russian state news agency.

WATCH: Russia expels scores of Western diplomats in retaliation for expulsion of its own

Click to play video: 'Russia expels scores of Western diplomats, including Canada, in retaliation for expulsion of its own'
Russia expels scores of Western diplomats, including Canada, in retaliation for expulsion of its own

Russia on Thursday announced it was expelling 60 US diplomats and closing the consulate in St. Petersburg in retaliation
for Washington’s moves.

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READ MORE: Russia expels 60 U.S. diplomats in row over U.K. spy poisoning case

The countries informed Friday of expulsions were Australia, Albania, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Latvia,
Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Estonia.

In the statement, the ministry said Russia would consider mirror expulsions of diplomats from Belgium, Hungary, Georgia and Montenegro.

The statement did not mention NATO, which is expelling seven Russians.

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