OTTAWA—The Canadian government is expelling four Russian diplomats they accuse of espionage, after spending the weekend speaking with western allies to co-ordinate a response to the Kremlin’s alleged involvement in a poisoning in the United Kingdom.

The move is the result of backroom diplomatic talks between London, Washington, the European Union and Ottawa over the weekend.

The Russian Embassy in Ottawa called the expulsions "highly deplorable and outrageous," and accused Canada of "obediently" following the U.S. and Britain amid "baseless" allegations against Moscow.

"This unfriendly move under false and biased pretext delivers yet another serious blow to Russian-Canadian relations and will be met with resolve and reciprocity," it added in a statement.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland accused four Russians, who have not been identified, of using “their diplomatic status to undermine Canada’s security or interfere in our democracy.” The Canadian government did not make specific allegations against the four, and Freeland’s office declined an interview request on Monday. The diplomats will have 10 days to leave the country.

In a statement, Freeland explicitly tied the move to the recent nerve agent attack in Salisbury, England, that has left a Russian ex-intelligence officer and his daughter in critical condition.

“The nerve agent attack represents a clear threat to the rules-based international order and to the rules that were established by the international community to ensure chemical weapons would never again destroy human lives,” the statement read.

“This is part of a wider pattern of unacceptable behaviour by Russia, including complicity with the Assad regime (in Syria), the annexation of Crimea, Russian-led fighting in eastern Ukraine, support for civil strife in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other neighbouring countries, interference in elections, and disinformation campaigns.”

Canada’s actions were part of a larger, co-ordinated effort by western countries to show solidarity with the U.K. British Prime Minister Theresa May has accused Russia of orchestrating the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy.

Canada, along with the United States, Australia, Ukraine and 14 EU countries, ejected about more than 100 Russian diplomats and foreign service members on Monday. The countries allege that the diplomats were intelligence officers, although Ottawa has provided no evidence to support that claim.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Donald Trump, who recently announced the U.S. will be kicking out 60 Russians, discussed the matter by phone Monday night.

Britain announced March 14 it will expel almost two dozen Russian diplomats, sever high-level bilateral contacts with Moscow and take both open and covert action against Kremlin meddling after the poisoning of a former spy. (The Associated Press)

“The leaders discussed measures taken by Canada and the United States to support our common ally against Russia,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The U.S. expulsions were particularly noteworthy given that Trump has been accused of being soft on Moscow, especially in light of allegations it interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The four Russians who were ordered out of Canada were based in Ottawa and Montreal. Canada also rejected the applications of three others “identified as intelligence officers.”

Neither Freeland nor Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale offered further details, including the nature of their activities or why the Russians had been permitted to stay in Canada if they posed a threat to the country.

“The selection of the individuals is a selection that’s done with great care by the Global Affairs department in consultation with other relevant agencies across the government of Canada,” Goodale said outside the House of Commons.

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“And it’s done in a manner to make the point very clear to the Russian government that we are deeply concerned and we’re also very alert to the activities to be unacceptable.”

Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned on March 4 and remain in critical condition in the hospital. Skripal had served as a double agent for British intelligence. British authorities have described the poison as a military-grade nerve agent and a British police officer who was exposed to the agent was hospitalized, but later released.

The Kremlin has denied involvement. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the poisoning as a “tragedy,” according to media reports, but denied any involvement.

The Russian Embassy did not respond to an interview request. In a statement, the embassy called Freeland’s comments “reprehensible.”

The comments “overlook the basic principle of due process given that the investigation is ongoing and no evidence so far has been produced,” the statement read.

“(The) U.K.’s continuous denial of Russian requests for concrete data, including the sample of an alleged substance, as well as for consular access to Russian citizen Yulia Skripal, are especially troubling.”

The Canadian measures also appeared to put another nail in whatever little hope there still was about a pending reset in relations with Russia, which the Liberals promised during the last federal election.

It's not the first time Canada has expelled a Russian diplomat; such measures weren't uncommon during the Cold War, including one instance in February 1978 when 11 Russians were forced to leave.

A handful have been expelled since the current tensions between the West and Russia began in 2014, but most have involved one or two Russians — without the type of language or co-ordination involved in Monday's action.

Seva Gunitsky, a University of Toronto political science professor who follows Russia closely, said the expulsion of Russian diplomats may help Putin domestically.

“It allows him to keep hammering home the message that Russia is under siege by outside forces, but internationally I think it does send a strong signal, perhaps more strong than Putin had expected or Russia had expected about the unity of NATO states in response to any potential aggression,” Gunitsky told the Star.

“We only see what’s on TV (in Russia) and the perception on TV is that this is totally unfair and just reinforces what Putin has been saying, so that’s the perception inside Russia. And my sense is that reflects real sentiment. The polling inside Russia that’s been done recently is a minority of Russians actually believe the official British story. ... I’m not sure if this will have much of an impact on Putin’s security, let’s say.”

With files from Bruce Campion-Smith and Star wire services