EU backs May; blames Russia for spy attack

BRUSSELS: European Union leaders backed Britain yesterday in blaming Moscow over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England and recalled their envoy to Moscow in a symbolic protest.

The show of support from the EU, at a time when Britain is grappling with its departure from the bloc, will boost Prime Minister Theresa May, who has been asking other nations to match her decision to expel Russians over the attack.

In a joint summit statement, the leaders said the EU ‘‘agrees with the United Kingdom government’s assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation’’.

That marked a breakthrough for Britain, which had been seeking to persuade EU leaders to condemn Russia for the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter on March 4. It was the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War 2.

After talks yesterday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the prospect of further punitive measures in response to the attack in the southwest ern city of Salisbury, saying the European Union would strive to act together on the matter.

May’s move to expel 23 ‘‘undeclared intelligence officials’’ was followed by similar measures from Moscow, including the closure of Britain’s cultural centre in St Petersburg.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said she was ready to expel Russian spies. Other Baltic states and Poland could do so too. The European Union will recall their envoy to Moscow, German diplomat Markus Ederer, for one month for consultations.

May, who used a dinner with EU leaders to call on all governments to confront Russia, welcomed the support.

Yesterday, Moscow’s ambassador to London, Vladimir Yakovenko, said that, had Novichok been used, the Skripals would have died and he rebuked British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for comparing Russia’s hosting of the soccer World Cup this summer with Nazi Germany’s hosting of the Olympics in 1936.

A militarygrade nerve toxin attack on Skripal and his daughter may have left them with compromised mental capacity and it is unclear whether they will recover, a British judge said yesterday.

A London court gave permission for blood samples to be taken from the Skripals for examination by chemical weapons inspectors to confirm the conclusion of Britain’s Porton Down military research laboratory.

An unidentified doctor who is treating the Skripals said they were both heavily sedated and unable to communicate.

‘‘The precise effect of their exposure on their long term health remains unclear, albeit medical tests indicate that their mental capacity might be compromised to an unknown and so far unascertained degree,’’ Judge David Williams said in his ruling.

Williams said the application to take the samples had been made urgently on Tuesday. Both Skripal and his daughter were critical but stable, although he added: ‘‘It is not inconceivable that their condition could rapidly deteriorate‘‘

A policeman who fell ill after helping the Skripals was released from hospital yesterday after more than two weeks of treatment, officials said. — Reuters