Russians blamed
UK poisoning ‘despicable’
BRITISH Prime Minister Theresa May says it is “highly likely” that Moscow was responsible for the poisoning in England of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter using a militarygrade nerve agent.
Ms May told parliament that either the Russian state was directly responsible for the poisoning or it had allowed the nerve agent to get into the hands of others.
London has given Russia until today to explain its use.
British officials had identified the substance as being part of the Novichok group of nerve agents that were developed by the Soviet military during the 1970s and 1980s, Ms May said.
Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33year-old daughter, Yulia, have been in hospital in critical condition since being found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping centre in the city of Salisbury on March 4.
“Should there be no credible response, we will conclude that this action amounts to an unlawful use of force by the Russian state against the UK,” Ms May said, calling the attack a “reckless and despicable act”.
Russia’s foreign ministry hit back, saying Ms May’s comments were a “circus show” and part of a political information campaign against Russia.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US had “full confidence” in Britain’s assessment that Russia was likely responsible. “We agree that those responsible — both those who committed the crime and those who ordered it — must face appropriately serious consequences,” he said.
Ms May said the poisoning took place “against a backdrop of a well-established pattern of Russian state aggression” and that Britain was ready to take “much more extensive measures” against Russia than in the past.