Moscow ? Russia held off Tuesday on a threatened response to Britain’s expulsion of four of its diplomats in the bitter standoff over the poisoning death of a former KGB officer, but it warned London it was on a “direct path to confrontation.”

With Russian newspapers headlining a diplomatic war and state-run media unleashing a flood of commentary from Kremlin allies blasting Britain, Moscow had been expected to announce a response to the expulsions, possibly one that involved throwing out British diplomats.

At an eagerly awaited news briefing, however, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko vowed a “targeted and appropriate” response, without revealing Russia’s plans. He hinted that Russia could stop cooperating on a range of matters, possibly even anti-terror efforts.

The standoff over Alexander Litvinenko’s death and Russia’s refusal to extradite the key suspect in the case has badly damaged ties between two countries, which were already plagued by a history of spying and worsening relations between Russia and the West in general.