Amid a deepening diplomatic crisis, UK Prime Minister Theresa May has expressed personal condolences over Sunday’s Kemerovo shopping mall fire that has resulted in the deaths of 64 people.

“The thoughts and prayers of the British people are with the families who have lost loved ones in such terrible circumstances,” wrote May in a message posted on the Twitter feed of the British embassy in Moscow.

UK Prime Minister @theresa_may expressed her condolences to President Putin for the terrible #Kemerovo tragedy. pic.twitter.com/UG23QoetRk — UKinRussia🇬🇧🇷🇺 (@ukinrussia) March 27, 2018

The message, addressed to Vladimir Putin, came a day after over 20 mostly NATO and EU states, including the US, Canada, Australia, and France, announced that they would collectively expel more than 100 Russian diplomats, at the behest of London. The decision is a response to the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in the UK earlier this month, for which Britain has blamed Russia. Moscow denies all accusations.

READ MORE: Putin lays red roses at venue of deadly mall blaze in Kemerovo that killed 64

Putin himself visited Kemerovo on Tuesday to deal with the aftermath of one of the biggest civilian tragedies in Russia’s modern history.

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