Hunt to challenge EU over Russia on US trip

Jeremy Hunt will challenge the EU to stand “shoulderto-shoulder” with the US and Britain over Russian aggression, as he makes his first visit to Washington as foreign secretary.

Mr Hunt will use a speech today to urge the bloc’s members to ensure the allies speak with “one voice” against transgressions by Moscow “whenever and wherever they occur, from the streets of Salisbury Crimea”.

EU nations including Germany and France were among dozens of countries that expelled Russian diplomats after the Novichok nerve agent attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March, which also resulted in the death of a British woman, Dawn Sturgess, in June.

In a speech at the US Institute of Peace, Mr Hunt is due to say that under Mr Putin Russia’s “aggressive and malign behaviour to the fate of undermines the international order that keeps us safe”.

He will say: “Of course

“We must engage with Russia but we must also be blunt”

we must engage with Moscow but we must also be blunt – Russia’s foreign policy under President Putin has made the world a more dangerous place.

“And today, the United Kingdom asks its allies to go further by calling on the European Union to ensure its sanctions against Russia are comprehensive, and that we truly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the US.

“That means calling out and responding to transgressions with one voice whenever and wherever they occur, from the streets of Salisbury to the fate of Crimea.”

Mr Hunt will also warn a no-deal Brexit represents “one of the biggest threats to European unity”.

Jeremy Hunt