Uruguay refuses to expel Russian diplomats at U.S.'s request
MOSCOW. June 3 (Interfax) - The United States exerted pressure on Uruguay this spring, demanding that the country expel Russian diplomats in connection with the Skripal case, Lucia Topolansky, the Uruguayan vice president and senate speaker, said during the meeting with Russia's State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
"We had an incident not so long ago where the government of the United States asked us to expel Russian diplomats because of the incident in Britain. But we refused, exactly in keeping with the principle that we should not meddle in any affairs of other nations," Topolansky said.
"We are sure that other Latin American countries had the same situation," she added.
Topolansky went on to note that the reports about the Salisbury incident "were unclear and looked like a montage".
Volodin thanked Uruguay for the country's refusal to expel Russian diplomats.
"I would like to express gratitude to you because you resisted the pressure which in this case came from the U.S.," Volodin said.