The United States, Germany, and France have banded together to stand with their ally the United Kingdom over the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on British spy.
The three countries have agreed with the UK that Russia used a nerve agent that have and his daughter fighting for their lives.
From Reuters:
“We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom, abhor the attack that took place against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, U.K., on 4 March 2018,” the statement said.”This use of a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War.”It is an assault on UK sovereignty and any such use by a State party is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law. It threatens the security of us all.”The four nations called on Russia to provide full and complete disclosure of its Novichok nerve agent program to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
The Financial Times produced the White House statement:
The White House said in a statement: “This latest action by Russia fits into a pattern of behaviour in which Russia disregards the international rules-based order, undermines the sovereignty and security of countries worldwide, and attempts to subvert and discredit western democratic institutions and processes. The US is working together with our allies and partners to ensure that this kind of abhorrent attack does not happen again.”
May spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, which led to his government proclaiming that “there was ‘no other plausible explanation’ than Russian involvement in the attack. France and the UK agreed on ‘the importance of European and transatlantic unity in the response to this event.'”
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen demanded Russia cooperate with an investigation into the poisoning and vowed serious consequences. She described the attack as a “serious violation of international agreements on chemical weapons.”
On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats after Russia could not explain itself properly over the poisoning.
She also called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. US Ambassador Nikki Haley stood with Britain:
In the strongest statement yet from the US administration on the affair, Haley said Washington shared the UK’s assessment that the Russian state was behind the poisoning and demanded a firm international response.”The United States believes that Russia is responsible for the attack on two people in the United Kingdom using a military-grade nerve agent,” Haley said in her remarks at a UN Security Council emergency session, blasting the Russian government for flouting international law.”If we don’t take immediate concrete measures to address this now, Salisbury will not be the last place we see chemical weapons used,” said Haley. “They could be used here in New York or in cities of any country that sits on this council.”
OF COURSE Russia claims innocence and believes it’s a witch hunt. You know, they are the real victims even though UK has seen FOURTEEN previous attacks on exiled Russians on their soil.
In return, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Russia will expel British diplomats. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said other “retaliatory measures” will take place:
“Russia is perplexed and does not comprehend the stance by the British leadership and the British side against the backdrop of Skripal’s case,” Peskov said, according to Russia’s Tass news agency.He said “the accusations are unsubstantiated, moreover, these accusations surfaced even before any information on the used substance could appear.”
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