Nats: Be harder on Russia
National is calling on the prime minister to urgently and publicly condemn Russia for its involvement in the Salisbury chemical attack, following an initial statement which failed to do so.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have since both condemned Russia in committing the attack but only in response to questions from Stuff.
A formal public statement, issued when the United Kingdom laid charges against two named Russian individuals, did not mention Russia nor condemn its actions.
National’s sledge comes after an exclusive interview with Britain’s minister of state for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field, in which he hoped the Government would be issuing an ‘‘unequivocal’’ statement in support of the British Government, in slating full responsibility for the attack to the Russian state.
National Party foreign affairs spokesman Todd McClay said New Zealand risked falling ‘‘out of step with our closest friends and allies’’, unless a full condemnation was placed on the record.
‘‘Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ statement simply accepting the ‘conclusions’ of the investigation last week is unacceptable. The prime minister must now explain why her Government failed to act more decisively last week before a diplomatic intervention by the British Government was needed.
‘‘The UK was left guessing over our support, prompting the British Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field, to tell media that the British Government ‘very much hope’ that the New Zealand Government would ‘be able to condemn in unequivocal terms, what has happened’ as other countries in the international community had made ‘very robust statements of support’,’’ McClay said.
‘‘The United Kingdom is one of our closest friends and allies. A United Kingdom Police investigation has now confirmed ‘Russia’s culpability for the heinous military-grade nerve agent attack on UK soil’.
‘‘This attack was an appalling, violent breach of the sovereignty of one of New Zealand’s closest friends. The Government’s written statement on this violent attack falls woefully short and is embarrassing.’’
The British Government released the findings of its inquiry into the Salisbury attacks last Thursday (NZ time), which came with charges laid against two suspected Russian agents and evidence to suggest the operation was sanctioned at the highest echelons of the Kremlin.
The attack, using a militarygrade nerve agent called Novichok, was carried out in March and targeted a former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
While both, as well as an attending police officer have all recovered, two civilians later came across the discarded chemical weapon and one died.
In the immediate hours after the UK revelations, Peters issued a statement welcoming the progress in its investigation and justifying his stance in waiting for the outcome of the investigation.
Both Peters and Ardern were in the remote island of Nauru at the time, attending the Pacific Island Forum, and did not receive a full briefing until they returned.
On his return to New Zealand, Peters told Stuff the Government did ‘‘condemn the Salisbury attack and Russia’s involvement’’ and had stood behind the UK.
Ardern was more forceful, saying: ‘‘New Zealand condemns any use of chemical weapons, whether it is in Syria or the streets of the UK. New Zealand believes all states must adhere to obligations under international law, including in respect of chemical weapons.’’
By comparison, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said her Government ‘‘strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons’’ and the UK investigation results ‘‘confirm Russia’s culpability for this heinous attack’’.