EU denounces poison attack on ex-spy in Britain

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Monday condemned the poisoning in Britain of a former Russian spy, and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described Moscow’s claims that it is not responsible for the attack as absurd.

“The lives of many citizens were threatened by this reckless and illegal act,” EU foreign ministers said in a statement in Brussels, where they were briefed by Johnson on the latest developments surrounding the March 4 poisoning in Salisbury that left Sergei Skripal and his daughter in critical condition.

Without explicitly blaming Russia or threatening any repercussions, the ministers called on Russia to “address urgently” British questions over its Novichok nerve agent program, and they expressed “unqualified solidarity” with Prime Minister Theresa May’s government.

Johnson told reporters that “Russian denials grow increasingly absurd,” with contradictory claims about whether Russia produced the Novichok used in the attack.

“What people can see is that this is a classic Russian strategy of trying to conceal the needle of truth in a haystack of lies and obfuscation,” he said.

Johnson said many EU countries have been victims of “malign Russian behavior” and that Moscow is “not fooling anybody anymore.”

The statement came as international chemical weapons experts were due Monday to take samples of the nerve agent for independent testing.

The Kremlin on Monday said Britain will eventually have to offer proof to back up its claim of Russia’s involvement in the poisoning — or apologize.

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the “slanderous anti-Russian flow coming from Britain is inexplicable, unfounded and driven by unclear motives.”