President Donald Trump did not mention the alleged nerve agent attack by Russians against a former spy in the U.K. during a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin because he did not want to give warning about the expulsion of Russian diplomats, a National Security Council spokesman said Tuesday, Politico reported.
"The reason he didn't bring up the poisoning with Putin is because this U.S. action was in motion at the time they had the conversation," spokesman Michael Anton said on CNN.
"As President Trump has often said, he doesn't telegraph his moves or telegraph his punches when he's about to make a move," Anton added.
The Trump administration announced on Monday that it was expelling 60 Russian diplomats that had been identified as intelligence officials. The U.K. and the European Union also said they would expel Russian diplomats.
Russia's Foreign Ministry vowed to retaliate against the expulsion of its diplomats. "This unfriendly step by this group of countries won't pass without impact and we will respond," the ministry said in a statement Monday.
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