MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – Bolivian President Evo Morales on Saturday expressed his support for Moscow amid a series of expulsions of Russian diplomats over the country’s alleged involvement in the poisoning of former GRU colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK town of Salisbury.
“Our solidarity is with brotherly Russian people and President Vladimir Putin amid the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the United States and some European countries that have put the blame for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter on Russia. These repressive measures are directed against world peace,” Morales wrote on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/evoespueblo/status/979795968827813888
Over the past few days, more than 25 countries, including numerous EU member states, the United States, Canada, Albania, Norway and Ukraine, have announced their decisions to collectively expel over 150 Russian diplomats as a sign of solidarity with London on the Skripal case. Russia has already adopted a reciprocal response by ordering an equivalent number of diplomats out with regard to each of the countries.
Skripal, a former Russian GRU colonel who also worked for UK intelligence, and his daughter Yulia have been in a hospital since March 4 due to exposure to what UK experts say is the A234 nerve agent. UK Prime Minister Theresa May has accused Russia of orchestrating the attack and expelled 23 Russian diplomats.
Russia has strongly rejected the accusations and offered to assist in the investigation. However, Moscow’s request for samples of the chemical substance used to poison the Skripals was rejected.