White House: Trump Cannot Tolerate Skripal Incident

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - President Donald Trump wants to work with Russia but the United States cannot tolerate actions such as Moscow's alleged role in the Skripal case, White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said during a press briefing on Monday.

"The president wants to work with Russia but their actions sometimes don't allow that to happen," Shah said. "The poisoning in the UK that has kind of led to today's announcement was a very brazen action, it was a a reckless action … this is not the type of conduct that the United States or allies can accept."

Shah said Trump spoke with many foreign leaders to encourage them to join the United States in expelling Russian diplomats in response to Russia's alleged role in the Skripal case.

Earlier on Monday, the United States decided to expel 60 Russian diplomats, including 12 from the UN, and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle. The move came in response to Britain's allegations that Russia played a role in the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England earlier this month.

Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Skripal case and pointed out that no evidence has been offered to back the claims.