Luxembourg recalls ambassador to Moscow for consultations

Luxembourg announced on Wednesday that it has decided to call back its ambassador to Moscow for consultations in the context of Moscow's alleged role in a nerve agent attack against a former double agent in the UK.

"The Luxembourg government strongly condemns the attack and agrees with the UK government's analysis that it is highly probable that the Russian Federation is responsible for this act and that no other plausible explanation exists," Luxembourg Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean Asselborn was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia suffered the chemical attack in Salisbury on March 4 and were in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

British officials identified the chemical as Novichok, a nerve agent developed by Russia during the Cold War.

Following the incident, the UK announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats which led Moscow to retaliate with a "like-for-like" expulsion of British diplomats.

Russia is now facing a cold front from the US, the EU and a large list of countries expelling 140 Russian diplomats in retaliation for the nerve agent attack. On Tuesday, NATO announced that it had expelled seven diplomats from Russia's mission to the alliance.

Luxembourg maintained the position of the European Union, which demanded that more light be shed on the case and showed solidarity with London since the attacks.

But the Luxembourg government, according to Asselborn, will not expel Russian diplomats because they were not numerous enough and did not represent a serious threat to Luxembourg interests.

--IANS

soni/mr