MOSCOW: Russia said Saturday it would expel 23 British diplomats and close a British consulate following London’s “provocative” measures over the poisoning of a double agent that has triggered an escalating war of words. And it also said it would halt the activities of the British Council in Russia in a tough series of retaliatory measures announced after summoning British ambassador Laurie Bristow. The Russian response was announced on the eve of a presidential election which is expected to hand Vladimir Putin a fourth term in the Kremlin, but which comes as the country appears increasingly isolated. The crisis erupted after Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were exposed to a Soviet-designed nerve agent on March 4 in the English city of Salisbury, leaving them in critical condition. London has blamed Moscow and on Friday, even directly implicated Putin in the attack, prompting the Kremlin’s fury. “Twenty three diplomatic staff at the British embassy in Moscow are declared persona non grata and to be expelled within a week,” a foreign ministry statement said. It said this was a response to Britain’s “provocative actions” and “baseless accusations over the incident in Salisbury on March 4”.