Hand over suspects, says May
British Prime Minister Theresa May is asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to hand over the Salisbury poisoning suspects for trial in the United Kingdom, after he warned that ‘‘traitors must be punished’’.
May said yesterday she would use her first formal meeting with Putin since the nerve agent attack on a former spy and his daughter last year to insist that those responsible be ‘‘brought to justice’’.
But shortly before the planned meeting, on the fringes of the G20 summit in Japan, Putin made it clear that he had ‘‘zero tolerance’’ for traitors.
In an interview with the Financial Times, he said: ‘‘Treason is the gravest crime possible, and traitors must be punished. I am not saying that the Salisbury incident is the way to do it . . . but traitors must be punished.’’
Putin had previously said the UK should ‘‘forget about’’ the assault on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia and focus on rebuilding relations with Moscow.
His meeting with May came days after four men with links to the Russian military were charged with murdering 298 people on a Malaysia Airlines jet shot down over Ukraine.
May, attending her last major summit as prime minister, said she intended to give a ‘‘very clear message’’ to Putin that Russia must put an end to aggressive actions such as the Salisbury attack.
‘‘We believe these individuals should be brought to justice,’’ she said.
‘‘It is possible for us to have a different relationship with Russia, but Russia does need to stop activity that undermines our collective security and undermines international treaties.’’
Dozens of Russian diplomats in the European Union and countries worldwide were expelled after Britain concluded that the Skripals were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. They were later discharged from hospital, but mother of three Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after coming into contact with the substance.
The attack in March 2018 was blamed on the Russian government, and led to a collapse in Anglo-Russian relations.
Three suspects were implicated, all intelligence officers at the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service. Last year, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were charged with conspiracy to murder. Putin insisted that the suspects had no links to his government.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, May said: ‘‘There are European arrest warrants for these individuals, and if they step foot outside Russia, we will make every effort to ensure that they are brought to justice.’’
But Putin struck a positive chord by saying he believed Russia and the UK were ‘‘both interested in fully restoring our relations’’.
He also dismissed US claims that Russia had interfered in the 2016 American elections.
Meanwhile, May hinted that she could join MPs opposing her successor’s Brexit plans if he opted for a no-deal departure from the EU, and also warned against any attempt to suspend parliament to deliver a no-deal Brexit.