By IRNA
London : Four Russian diplomats expelled over Moscow's refusal to extradite former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi to face murder charges have left the UK, the BBC reported Friday.
The Russian Embassy in London was said to have confirmed that the four, whose names have not been disclosed, had left but did not specify when. This week it was revealed in parliament that there were 77 Russian diplomats in the UK.
A 10-day deadline set by Britain on July 16 expired on Thursday.
In response, Russia set a deadline of July 29 when announcing expulsion of four British Embassy staff in Moscow, who reportedly include head of the economics section Andrew Levi.
The diplomatic row comes after Russian rejected a British request to extradite Lugovoi to be tried for murder by "deliberate poisoning" another former KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, in London last November.
Moscow cited that it was against the country's constitution and that it had to the right under the European Convention on Extradition 1957 to refuse a request against its citizens.
In turn, the UK turned out Russia's offer for Lugovoi to be tried in Moscow, suggesting that the country's legal system was not transparent.