EU's High representative for foreign affairs and security policy Federica Mogherini spoke to the press as she arrived on the first day of a summit of European Union (EU) leaders at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on March 22, 2018

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Brussels (AFP)

The EU's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini held crisis talks with the bloc's ambassador to Moscow Sunday after he was recalled over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in England.

EU leaders summoned envoy Markus Ederer back to Brussels for consultations as international pressure builds on Moscow over the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the British city of Salisbury.

At a summit on Friday, the bloc unanimously backed Britain's assessment that the Kremlin was to blame for the incident -- the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War 2.

In a brief statement on Sunday, Mogherini's office said she had held "consultations with the Head of European Union Delegation in the Russian Federation".

No further details were given beyond saying Ederer would "continue institutional consultations in the coming days".

A number of European countries are expected to take further steps to punish Moscow on Monday, with the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Denmark and Ireland considering expelling Russian diplomats.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that further coordinated actions were "necessary" to respond to the attack, while French officials have said Paris too was ready to act.

Britain and Russia have expelled 23 of each other's diplomats in tit-for-tat exchanges, while Moscow has also shut down the operations of the British Council cultural organisation in its territory.

Moscow denies any involvement in the attack on the Skripals and has accused Britain of orchestrating a campaign against it.

On Saturday the BBC reported that Skripal had written to Russian President Vladimir Putin several years ago asking for a pardon for selling secrets to British intelligence.

Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter are both in a coma after being poisoned with a nerve agent -- identified as the Soviet-made "Novichok" by the British government -- on March 4.

© 2018 AFP </s> The EU's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini held crisis talks with the bloc's ambassador to Moscow Sunday after he was recalled over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in England.

EU leaders summoned envoy Markus Ederer back to Brussels for consultations as international pressure builds on Moscow over the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the British city of Salisbury.

At a summit on Friday, the bloc unanimously backed Britain's assessment that the Kremlin was to blame for the incident -- the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War 2.

In a brief statement on Sunday, Mogherini's office said she had held "consultations with the Head of European Union Delegation in the Russian Federation".

No further details were given beyond saying Ederer would "continue institutional consultations in the coming days".

A number of European countries are expected to take further steps to punish Moscow on Monday, with the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Denmark and Ireland considering expelling Russian diplomats.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that further coordinated actions were "necessary" to respond to the attack, while French officials have said Paris too was ready to act.

Britain and Russia have expelled 23 of each other's diplomats in tit-for-tat exchanges, while Moscow has also shut down the operations of the British Council cultural organisation in its territory.

Moscow denies any involvement in the attack on the Skripals and has accused Britain of orchestrating a campaign against it.

On Saturday the BBC reported that Skripal had written to Russian President Vladimir Putin several years ago asking for a pardon for selling secrets to British intelligence.

Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter are both in a coma after being poisoned with a nerve agent -- identified as the Soviet-made "Novichok" by the British government -- on March 4. </s> in Brussels European Union leaders gather in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day summit that will be dominated by discussions on Russia and the bloc’s future trade policy with Britain as the EU tries to move forward with its agenda.

While Theresa May will attend her first EU summit as prime minister, no substantive discussion of Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc is expected, though the new Conservative Party leader will update her counterparts on her decision to activate article 50 by March, a move that will activate Britain’s exit process.

Amid mounting public concern about the humanitarian situation in northern Syria where rebel-held areas of Aleppo are being bombed by Russian and Syrian warplanes, EU leaders will debate the bloc’s relationship with Russia over dinner on Thursday night.

Senior EU officials played down any expectations of a decision on sanctions which are up for renewal at the end of the year, while written conclusions on Russia will not be issued after the meeting. Instead, leaders will take stock on the bloc’s relationship with Moscow amid divisions between member states on how far the EU should engage with its eastern partner.

The debate, which Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi has been requesting for months, will take place three days after EU foreign ministers issued their strongest condemnation yet of Russia’s actions in Syria, accusing Russia of possible war crimes.

“Since the beginning of the offensive by the regime and its allies, notably Russia, the intensity and scale of the aerial bombardment of eastern Aleppo is clearly disproportionate,” foreign ministers said in a lengthy statement on Monday, criticising Moscow for “the deliberate targeting of hospitals, medical personnel, schools and essential infrastructure.”

But the EU is divided on the issue of engagement with Russia. Greece, Cyprus, Hungary and Italy are among those countries who have previously called for EU sanctions on Moscow to be reassessed, as their economies are hurting from the effect of Russia’s countersanctions on the EU.

On the other hand, France and Britain have been leading calls for the EU to use all its available tools against Russia as the offensive in Aleppo continues. “We are facing a catastrophic and unacceptable situation in Aleppo,” said one senior diplomat, “sanctions should be on the table, at least for discussion.”

Some diplomats expressed hope that Mr Renzi may have been persuaded to take a tougher stance against Moscow following his meetings this week with US president Barack Obama in the White House.

Italy’s commissioner Federica Mogherini , who is the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, proposed a new policy of “selective engagement” with Russia earlier this year, arguing that Europe needed to engage with its neighbour and strategically consider its relationship in parallel to the sanctions introduced in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

While Syria is likely to inform Thursday’s discussion on Russia, leaders are expected to do little more than distil Monday’s declaration from foreign ministers which denounced Russia’s actions in Aleppo. A substantive debate on the current Iraqi government offensive on Mosul is not on the agenda.

Much of Thursday evening’s discussion on Russia is expected to be steered by German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president François Hollande who will debrief ministers on their meeting with Russian president Vladamir Putin and Ukrainian president Viktor Poroshenko on Wednesday evening.

EU leaders are also scheduled to discuss the EU’s future trade policy on Friday morning, including the EU-Canada trade deal which has threatened to be derailed following the rejection of the deal by the Belgian regional parliament of Wallonia last Friday.

Among the issues to be discussed are the trade defence instruments at the disposal of the EU to protect the bloc’s industries in the face of global competition, including from China. In his letter to EU leaders ahead of the summit, EU Council president Donald Tusk said that, while trade is a “powerful engine for jobs, growth and better living standards,” the benefits of trade were being questioned.

“I am convinced that together we can deliver a trade policy that is fit for today’s concerns and tomorrow’s challenges. But ultimately it hinges on our ability to adequately protect ourselves, and our citizens, when unfair practices arise.” </s> Brussels (CNN) The European Union is recalling its Russian ambassador over the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain, as the bloc rallied firmly behind the United Kingdom in its worsening diplomatic dispute with Russia.

The EU's envoy in Moscow will return over the weekend "for consultations" while some member states were preparing to follow Britain's lead and expel Russian diplomats over the affair.

In a joint statement, EU leaders said they agreed with UK Prime Minister Theresa May that it was "highly likely" that Moscow was responsible for the attack on the Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, southern England, on March 4. The statement added that "there is no plausible alternative explanation."

"The threat from Russia is one that respects no borders and I think it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans and it is right that we are standing together in defense of those values," May said on Friday.

"I think what is crucial, though, is that there (was) recognition around the table last night about the threat that Russia poses," she added.

Speaking ahead of Friday's European Council meeting of EU leaders in Brussels, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "We agreed as a European Union to express full solidarity with the United Kingdom -- to agree with their assessment as to who is behind the Salisbury attack, and also to recall the EU ambassador to Russia to Brussels for consultations."

He added that "individual countries will decide in the coming days whether they want to take additional actions."

Ireland, Denmark, Lithuania and the Czech Republic were considering further measures, including the expulsion of diplomats.

After meeting with May in Brussels on Thursday night, EU leaders expressed the bloc's "unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security."

Russia has furiously denied claims it was involved in the attack, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia regretted the European leaders' decision to recall the EU ambassador, adding that his country had not had access to the information on which the decision was based.

Asked how Russia would respond if other individual EU nations recalled their ambassadors, Peskov said: "First, we need to wait for any decisions and understand on what basis they were taken. Then we can start talking about something."

Varadkar said Ireland expected to make a formal decision on expulsions early next week.

"What we will now consider in the coming days is whether we want to take individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland," he said. "Bear in mind, what the United Kingdom did was to expel 23 diplomats who they believed weren't actually diplomats. So, we would have to do a security assessment -- just like they did -- before that. We're not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats."

Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels that his government would "take into very close consideration" in the coming days whether to take a unilateral step.

"I have just briefed my minister of foreign affairs and he will now go to the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Parliament later this morning, and then my government will in the next coming days very, very seriously consider to take further steps," he said.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is moving toward a decision to expel Russian diplomats, his spokeswoman Barbora Peterová told CNN.

Asked in Brussels if Lithuania was also considering expelling Russian diplomats, President Dalia Grybauskaite said: "The united response was yesterday and, from the beginning of next week, a lot of countries will go for our national measures."

The European Council said Thursday that member states would have to coordinate on how to proceed following the attack, including what the consequences should be for Russia going forward.

"The use of chemical weapons, including the use of any toxic chemicals as weapons under any circumstances, is completely unacceptable, must be systematically and rigorously condemned and constitutes a security threat to us all," its statement said.

Speaking to reporters as she arrived in Brussels on Thursday, May said Russia had staged a "brazen and reckless attack" against her country.

"It's clear that the Russian threat does not respect borders and indeed the incident in Salisbury was part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe and its near neighbors," she said.

Varadkar said after the meeting that other countries beside the United Kingdom had shared their intelligence assessments on what happened in Salisbury.

In a briefing Friday at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, deputy spokesman Artyom Kozhin said EU condemnation of the incident in Salisbury was "regrettable."

Kozhin said the European Council's statement Thursday agreeing with the British assessment of likely Russian responsibility "is in essence an unproven allegation" against Russia.

"We are fully prepared to work with the British, but the British side is avoiding cooperation," he said. "We believe that it is possible to continue an exchange of views within the framework of the appropriate international structure, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons."

Technical experts from the OPCW have been in Salisbury this week, collecting samples for further analysis.

A British court ruled Thursday that they could take blood samples from the Skripals to check against the analysis performed by the UK military's Porton Down research laboratory.

"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 wrote in his judgment allowing access to the Skripals.

Court documents quoted an unidentified doctor as saying the Skirpals were both heavily sedated and unable to communicate, and that it was not possible to assess to what extent either would be able to regain mental capacity.

A total of 21 people received medical attention after the incident, including Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who was discharged from the hospital Thursday, according to a statement from Wiltshire Police.

Russia's ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, hinted Thursday at possible British involvement in the poisoning, as he questioned how British authorities could have so quickly determined the type of poison used in the attack. </s> EU leaders decided today to recall the bloc’s envoy to Russia after backing Britain’s assessment that Moscow was likely behind a nerve agent attack on an ex-spy, officials said. A number of EU countries are also considering expelling Russian diplomats or recalling their own envoys following the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England.

“After agreeing on attribution, they continued the discussions on how could they go beyond just words and actually really have some deeds,” a senior EU official said after the first day of the summit. “Some member states are looking into possibly expelling Russian diplomats or recalling national diplomats. “But there was also an agreement to recall the EU ambassador to Moscow for consultations.”

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte confirmed the recall of the EU envoy. Another EU source told AFP the recall was a “show of intent”. The 28 EU leaders said in a statement “that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation”.

Lithuania’s outspoken President Dalia Grybauskaite said on the way into the summit that she was giving serious thought to following Britain’s lead in taking steps against Moscow. Britain has expelled 23 Russian diplomats and severed some high-level ties. “All of us we are considering such measures,” Grybauskaite said. </s> BRUSSELS: The leaders of several EU countries said on Friday they are mulling whether to expel Russian diplomats or take other steps to support Britain following a nerve agent attack on a former spy.

European Union leaders returned to summit talks on Friday after uniting behind British Prime Minister Theresa May in blaming Russia for the attack in England, and agreeing to recall the bloc’s ambassador to Moscow for consultations.

Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats they said were spies, and has been pressing EU allies to follow suit despite Moscow’s warning against confrontational steps.

The leaders of former Soviet bloc EU states the Czech Republic and Lithuania, as well as Denmark and Ireland, said they were considering further unilateral steps, including expelling diplomats.

"I think national measures will be applied already starting from next week... from a lot of countries," Lithuania’s outspoken President Dalia Grybauskaite said returning to the summit on Friday.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis told the CTK news agency that Prague may expel several Russian diplomats over the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

"Yes, we will probably move in this direction," Babis said, adding he will consult with cabinet members on Monday.

Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said his government would decide early next week whether to expel diplomats following a security assessment. "We are not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats," Varadkar told reporters.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said his government heard the "strong signal" from the bloc’s leaders. He said he would hold consultations with members of his government. "My government will then in the next coming days very seriously consider to take further steps," Rasmussen said.

A French presidency source said on Thursday that Paris was also ready to act. The poisoning has heightened worries across Europe about Russian meddling -- from repeated cyber attacks to what the EU has called an "orchestrated strategy" of disinformation aimed at destabilising the bloc.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has close ties with Moscow and has clashed with Brussels on democracy issues, was behind the plan to recall the EU ambassador in solidarity with Britain, a diplomatic source said.

"At yesterday’s meeting it was PM Orban who proposed the recall of the EU ambassador to Moscow for consultations in Brussels," the diplomatic source told AFP on condition of anonymity. "Greece and Italy were the most reluctant to take further common actions against Russia." —AFP </s> Baku. 1 March. REPORT.AZ/ European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, European Commission Vice-President Federica Mogherini is on a visit to Armenia.

According to the information, EU official will meet with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan, as well as the representatives of political parties and civil society in the parliament. </s> The meeting took place after on Thursday, the European Council sided with London in claiming that Moscow was "highly likely" behind the recent poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the UK city of Salisbury and the EU leaders then agreed to recall Ederer for consultations.

"High Representative Federica Mogherini held today consultations with the Head of European Union Delegation in the Russian Federation, Markus Ederer, who has arrived in Brussels after having been recalled for consultations as requested by the European Council on Friday," the statement said.

Ederer will continue consultations with EU officials in the coming days, the EU External Service added in its press release.

READ MORE: Russian MoD Says A234 Nerve Agent Allegedly Used Against Skripal Developed in US

Skripal, a former Russian intelligence agent who then worked for the Mi6, has been hospitalized in a critical condition together with his daughter Yulia on March 4. They are currently being treated for exposure to what the UK experts believe to be the A234 nerve agent.

London claimed that the substance was related to the Novichok-class nerve agents developed in the Soviet Union, and UK Prime Minister Theresa May accused Moscow of orchestrating the attack and expelled 23 Russian diplomats as a punitive measure.

READ MORE: UK Lab Practically Avows It Develops New Components of Toxic Substances - Moscow

The Russian side has strongly rejected the accusations and offered assistance in the investigation. However, Moscow's request for samples of the chemical substance used to poison Skripal was turned down. Moscow also expelled UK diplomats and ordered the British Council to stop its activities in Russia in response to the UK move. </s> German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left), British Prime Minister Theresa May (centre) and President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz attend the European Union Leaders Summit in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday (Anodolu Agency photo)

BRUSSELS — European Union leaders grappled with Russia and Brexit at a "minefield" summit in Brussels on Thursday at the end of one of the most turbulent years in the bloc's history.

The 28 leaders are dealing with the migration crisis, sanctions against Moscow over the wars in Ukraine and Syria, and a troublesome pact with Kiev that the Netherlands threatens to veto.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will later be left out in the cold while the other 27 have dinner without her in a bid to present a united front over how they handle Britain's departure.

May however dismissed any suggestion that it amounted to a snub and called for as "smooth and orderly a process as possible".

"It is right that the other leaders prepare for those negotiations as we have been preparing," said May, who has promised to trigger the two-year divorce process by the end of March.

Lithuania's "iron lady" President Dalia Grybauskaite meanwhile played down a report that Britain's ambassador to the EU had warned the government that a full post-Brexit trade deal could take 10 years.

"10 years? I hope it will be a lot less," she told reporters.

The one-day summit, cut back from the usual two days, wraps up an “annus horribilis” for the bloc that has seen it face a wave of eurosceptic populism including the shock Brexit referendum vote in June.

"We are treading on a minefield, there are so many issues on the agenda that still can go wrong," warned a senior EU official.

The fate of civilians in Aleppo as Syrian and Russian forces drive out rebels is also on the agenda, although EU leaders will stop short of threatening any new sanctions against Moscow.

EU President Donald Tusk is set to meet Aleppo mayor Brita Hagi Hasan who is in Brussels to push the bloc to support the opening of a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians.

The leaders will issue a statement that the EU "strongly condemns" the assault by the "Syrian regime and its allies, notably Russia", but will only say that "the EU is considering all available options," according to a draft seen by AFP.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said the leaders were not set to consider sanctions, insisting instead that the bloc would try to use its "influence" with Iran and Russia.

Mogherini is also expected to push plans for increased European defence cooperation in the wake of Brexit and amid fears about US President-elect Donald Trump's commitment to NATO allies.

Agreement will be easier on the EU's stiff economic sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, which were imposed in 2014 after the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande will debrief leaders, after which "I expect that there will be a consensus" on a six-month rollover, a German government official said.

The rollover is expected despite little appetite among some countries and worries that Trump is showing signs of a rapprochement with Vladimir Putin.

The thorniest issue on Thursday could be Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's efforts to negotiate a way past a referendum in April in which his country voted against a key EU-Ukraine pact.

The Netherlands is the only one of the 28 EU states that has not ratified the deal so far, and Rutte wants vows that the pact is not a first step towards EU membership for Ukraine, and that it will not provide defence guarantees to Kiev.

"Failure of the ratification would be a huge defeat for the EU, Ukraine, a victory for Russia," the senior EU official said.

In the evening, Brexit but not May will return to the table, with the EU 27 expected to highlight their unity in a statement saying they agree to launch talks as quickly as possible after she does so.

But nothing is simple with the EU and the issue has already sparked a turf war in Brussels.

The European Commission, the EU's executive, is set to lead the talks but European Parliament chief Martin Schulz warned bluntly of "grave consequences" for any deal, which could even be rejected if MEPs are not included in the process.
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini holds crisis talks with Markus Ederer, the bloc's recalled ambassador to Russia.