Soviets Cut Number of Britons in Moscow

The Soviet Union said today it will sharply cut the number of British employees in Moscow in retaliation for the expulsions from Britain of 11 Soviets accused of espionage.

Britain said on Sunday that it secretly ordered the expulsion of eight Soviet diplomats and three journalists on Friday. On Saturday, the Soviet Union retaliated with an identical set of expulsions of Britons.

The Soviets took the diplomatic rift a step further today.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady I. Gerasimov told a news conference that the number of Britons accredited in Moscow and the number of Soviets working for Britons would be reduced from 375 to 205.

The new limit for British employees would be equal to the number of Soviets now permitted to work in Britain.

Gerasimov did not say how long the reductions would take, or whom exactly they would affect.

In London today, the Soviet Embassy said Britain provoked the dispute with its expulsions on Friday.

Embassy Counselor Lev Parshin called the expulsion order “deplorable, unfriendly and provocative” and said it “remains to be seen” how the dispute will affect Anglo-Soviet relations.

He denied that the expelled Soviets had done anything wrong.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher told the British Broadcasting Corp. today that she was disappointed Britain had to expel the Soviets, but “we gave them the chance and they have not taken it and they have revealed their true nature.”

She said Britain had hoped a new era was being ushered into the Soviet Union by President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, but “many things are still the same.”