Kremlin ‘regrets’ EU envoy’s recall
Bloc backs Britain’s position in blaming Russia for spy poisoning
BRUSSELS — The Kremlin said on Friday it regretted a decision by European Union leaders to recall the bloc’s envoy to Moscow in a symbolic backing to London over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in England.
When asked about the EU’s decision to recall its envoy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call: “We regret that.”
He said decisions were being made on the basis of suppositions about what happened to former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, without evidence.
The Kremlin did not know on what basis EU leaders had voiced their solidarity with Britain, he said, since Russia had seen no firsthand information on the case.
On Thursday at a summit in Brussels, EU leaders gave credence to Britain’s allegation that it was “highly likely” Russia is responsible for the poisoning.
The European Council “agrees with UK government that highly likely Russia is responsible for #SalisburyAttack and that there is no other plausible explanation,” tweeted Donald Tusk, president of the council.
The EU Council said that leaders of the 28-member bloc “condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent attack in Salisbury, expresses its deepest sympathies to all whose lives have been threatened and lends its support to the ongoing investigation”.
“We stand in unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security,” a statement added.
A number of EU countries are also considering expelling Russian diplomats or recalling their own envoys, with Lithuania and France among those indicating a willingness to take action.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said: “All of us are considering such measures”.
A French presidency source earlier said Paris was also ready to act.
Earlier on Thursday, after British Prime Minister Theresa May met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in the margin of the EU summit in Brussels, a 10 Downing Street spokesperson claimed “the UK, Germany and France reaffirmed that there is no plausible explanation other than that the Russian state was responsible”.
The three leaders also agreed on “the importance of sending a strong European message in response to Russia’s actions and agreed to remain in close contact in coming days,” said the spokesperson.
Britain claimed the pair were exposed to a nerve agent and holds Russia responsible. Authorities have yet to disclose exactly how Skripal and his daughter were poisoned.
Following the incident, Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats and announced freezing of Russian state assets in Britain, suspension of all planned high-level bilateral contacts, and a boycott of this year’s World Cup in Russia by ministers and royal family members.
Moscow expelled an equal number of British diplomats in response.
Moscow denied involvement in the poisoning and insisted on direct participation in the investigation of the incident.
Russian President Vladimir Putin convened a meeting of his national security council on Thursday to discuss “Britain’s hostile and provocative policy”, the Kremlin said.
Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, accused London of having a “bad record of violating international law and misleading the international community”.
“History shows that British statements must be verified,” he said, demanding “full transparency of the investigation and full cooperation with Russia” and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.