MOSCOW, July 19: Russia hit back at Britain on Thursday, expelling four British diplomats as Brussels and Washington sided with London in a mounting dispute over a high-profile murder inquiry.

Russia also announced a ban on visas for visiting British government officials and the suspension of counter-terrorism cooperation with London, saying it had been provoked by Britain.

“The British ambassador has been officially notified that four British embassy employees have been declared persona non grata,” foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said.

The diplomats had been given 10 days to leave the country, he added.

The row erupted after Russia last week refused to extradite the man British police suspect of last year’s radioactive poisoning of former Russian agent and fierce Kremlin critic, Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London last year.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Monday ordered the expulsion of four Russian diplomats and announced unspecified visa restrictions on Russian government officials in response to Russia’s position.

On Thursday, he described Moscow’s response as “completely unjustified” and again expressed disappointment with Russia’s refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB bodyguard.

Russia had warned that Britain’s decision to expel its diplomats would have “the most serious consequences” on Russian-British relations.

Analysts said the dispute was reminiscent of stand-offs during the Cold War years.

In response to British restrictions on visas for Russian officials, “Russian officials will not request British visas, and visa applications by British government officials will not be considered,” said Kamynin on Thursday.

“Unfortunately the measures announced by the authorities in London make impossible future cooperation between Russia and Britain in the struggle against terrorism,” he added.

Russia announced broad intelligence cooperation with western countries including Britain in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.

Kamynin on Thursday said the measures announced by London were “unfriendly and provocative” and called for “common sense” to prevail in the row. “Moscow did not pick this fight,” he added.

But the United States and European Union have thrown their weight behind London in the crisis, with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday calling on Moscow to extradite Lugovoi.

“Russia should honour the extradition request and Russia should cooperate fully,” Rice told Britain’s Sky News television.

“A terrible crime was committed on British soil and Britain has to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” she said.

The EU’s Portuguese presidency on Wednesday voiced “disappointment” with Russia and called on Moscow to cooperate with the British investigation. France earlier expressed full solidarity with Britain.

Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s EU representative, described the EU statement as “an unpleasant surprise” and said it would “certainly affect” relations between Moscow and Brussels.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier were due to meet in Berlin on Friday to discuss the diplomatic row.

The Russian constitution forbids Russia from extraditing its own citizens, but Britain insists that Moscow could hand over Lugovoi under the terms of an international convention it has signed.

Litvinenko died last November after being poisoned with a highly radioactive isotope, polonium-210.—AFP