British Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed the support offered by other European Union leaders on Friday when they agreed with London’s assessment that it was highly likely that Moscow was behind nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy.

“I welcome the fact that the EU Council has agreed with the UK government’s assessment that it is highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attempted murder that took place on the streets of Salisbury, and that there is no plausible alternative explanation,” May told reporters. “The threat that Russia poses respects no borders and it is a threat to our values. And it is right that here in the EU Council we are standing together to uphold those values.”

European Union leaders backed Britain on Thursday 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. 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 Two.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> Prime Minister Theresa May has said the European Council is “standing together” on the Salisbury nerve agent attack as she warned the threat from Russia “respects no borders”.

Mrs May was speaking after winning the backing of EU leaders who accepted the only “plausible explanation” for the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, was that Russia was responsible.

In a further development it emerged the European Union was recalling its ambassador to Moscow “for consultations”, although the move was not a formal sanction.

In a joint statement the council had said its members will “co-ordinate on the consequences to be drawn in the light of the answers provided by the Russian authorities”.

Mrs May earlier set out a detailed account of the evidence which led the Government to point the finger of blame at the Kremlin during an EU summit in Brussels.

European Council president Donald Tusk said: “(The) European Council agrees with UK government that highly likely Russia is responsible for Salisbury attack and that there is no other plausible explanation.”

Welcoming the support from the other 27 EU leaders, Mrs May said is was right they were standing together.

She said: “I welcome the fact that the EU Council has agreed with the United Kingdom Government’s assessment that it is highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attempted murder that took place on the streets of Salisbury and that there is no plausible alternative explanation.

“The threat that Russia poses respects no borders and it is a threat to our values and it is right that here in the EU Council we are standing together to uphold those values.”

Meanwhile, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said the European Union’s ambassador to Russia is being recalled to consult with Brussels over the attack.

Mr Rutte said the diplomat was being recalled as a “measure” and the move was not a “sanction” against Moscow.

The EU statement came as a welcome boost to Mrs May in her increasingly bitter stand-off with Moscow – and reports suggested that as many as five EU countries – France, Poland and the three Baltic states – could now follow Britain’s lead by expelling suspected Russian spies.

On Monday foreign ministers of the 28-nation bloc had issued a statement voicing “unqualified solidarity” with the UK, but stopping short of blaming the Russians.

In her address to the other 27 EU leaders over dinner, the Prime Minister set out the four pillars of evidence which the UK believe put Russia in the frame:

– The positive identification by experts at Porton Down of the specific chemical used as a type of Novichok nerve agent;

– The knowledge that Russia has produced this agent within the last 10 years and remains capable of doing so;

– Britain’s assessment that Russia views defectors as suitable targets for assassination.

German chancellor Angela Merkel was one of several leaders to express solidarity with the UK after meeting Mrs May and France’s president Emmanuel Macron on the margins of the summit to discuss the incident.

Lithuania’s president Dalia Grybauskaite disclosed the she was considering following Britain’s example by expelling Russian spies from her country.

Resistance to a firmer line with Moscow apparently came from Greece, whose prime minister Alexis Tsipras said: “We have to express solidarity to the British people for the Salisbury case, but we also need to be responsible on that issue.”

Earlier on Thursday, it was announced that the police officer exposed to the Novichok nerve agent had been discharged from hospital.

In a statement Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey said he had been “overwhelmed” by the messages of support, but acknowledged: “Normal life for me will probably never be the same.”

Meanwhile a Court of Protection judge has given doctors permission to take blood from the Skripals – who remain in a critical condition in hospital – and to provide samples to chemical weapons experts.

Mr Justice Williams said he had been asked to make decisions because Mr and Ms Skripal were unconscious and therefore unable to give their consent to blood samples being taken or tested. </s> Prime Minister Theresa May has said the European Council is “standing together” on the Salisbury nerve agent attack as she warned the threat from Russia “respects no borders”. Mrs May was speaking after winning the backing of EU leaders who accepted the only “plausible explanation” for the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, was that Russia was responsible. In a further development it emerged the European Union was recalling its ambassador to Moscow “for consultations”, although the move was not a formal sanction.

In a joint statement the council had said its members will “co-ordinate on the consequences to be drawn in the light of the answers provided by the Russian authorities”.

Mrs May earlier set out a detailed account of the evidence which led the Government to point the finger of blame at the Kremlin during an EU summit in Brussels.

European Council president Donald Tusk said: “(The) European Council agrees with UK government that highly likely Russia is responsible for Salisbury attack and that there is no other plausible explanation.”

Welcoming the support from the other 27 EU leaders, Mrs May said is was right they were standing together.

She said: “I welcome the fact that the EU Council has agreed with the United Kingdom Government’s assessment that it is highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attempted murder that took place on the streets of Salisbury and that there is no plausible alternative explanation.

“The threat that Russia poses respects no borders and it is a threat to our values and it is right that here in the EU Council we are standing together to uphold those values.”

Meanwhile, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said the European Union’s ambassador to Russia is being recalled to consult with Brussels over the attack.

Mr Rutte said the diplomat was being recalled as a “measure” and the move was not a “sanction” against Moscow.

The EU statement came as a welcome boost to Mrs May in her increasingly bitter stand-off with Moscow – and reports suggested that as many as five EU countries – France, Poland and the three Baltic states – could now follow Britain’s lead by expelling suspected Russian spies.

On Monday foreign ministers of the 28-nation bloc had issued a statement voicing “unqualified solidarity” with the UK, but stopping short of blaming the Russians.

In her address to the other 27 EU leaders over dinner, the Prime Minister set out the four pillars of evidence which the UK believe put Russia in the frame:

– The positive identification by experts at Porton Down of the specific chemical used as a type of Novichok nerve agent;

– The knowledge that Russia has produced this agent within the last 10 years and remains capable of doing so;

– Britain’s assessment that Russia views defectors as suitable targets for assassination.

German chancellor Angela Merkel was one of several leaders to express solidarity with the UK after meeting Mrs May and France’s president Emmanuel Macron on the margins of the summit to discuss the incident.

Lithuania’s president Dalia Grybauskaite disclosed the she was considering following Britain’s example by expelling Russian spies from her country.

Resistance to a firmer line with Moscow apparently came from Greece, whose prime minister Alexis Tsipras said: “We have to express solidarity to the British people for the Salisbury case, but we also need to be responsible on that issue.”

Earlier on Thursday, it was announced that the police officer exposed to the Novichok nerve agent had been discharged from hospital.

In a statement Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey said he had been “overwhelmed” by the messages of support, but acknowledged: “Normal life for me will probably never be the same.”

Meanwhile a Court of Protection judge has given doctors permission to take blood from the Skripals – who remain in a critical condition in hospital – and to provide samples to chemical weapons experts.

Mr Justice Williams said he had been asked to make decisions because Mr and Ms Skripal were unconscious and therefore unable to give their consent to blood samples being taken or tested. </s> MOSCOW: Russia on Friday accused Britain of trying to force its allies to take “confrontational steps” after EU member states decided to recall the bloc’s envoy from Moscow and mulled further diplomatic action over a nerve attack row.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov slammed Britain for garnering EU support over the poisoning of a former double agent, suggesting that London’s focus was now on making “the crisis with Russia as deep as possible”.

At a summit in Brussels, EU leaders united behind British Prime Minister Theresa May in blaming Russia for the nerve agent attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England, and agreed to recall their ambassador to Moscow for consultations.

EU states are now considering whether to follow Britain’s lead in expelling Russian diplomats and Latvia said Friday it would expel “one or several” Russian diplomats.“As for the decision taken, we regret in this context that again such decisions are taken using the wording ‘highly likely’,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“We don’t agree with this and we repeat again that Russia absolutely definitely has nothing to do with the Skripal case.”Russia’s top diplomat Lavrov for his part slammed Britain for “feverishly trying to force allies to take confrontational steps”.

“We still do not see any facts,” state news agency RIA Novosti quoted him as saying on a visit to Hanoi. “The absence of which makes one think that all of this is a provocation, the investigation has not even been finished yet.”

In a televised address, Putin thanked Russians for giving him the “highest level of support in the history of our country” in Sunday’s elections and urged the nation to come together amid the “difficult internal and external challenges we face.”

May had pressed the importance of a united response to the March 4 poisoning and the EU leaders in Brussels offered her their full support, agreeing in a statement “that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation”.

The Skripals are both in a coma after being found collapsed on a park bench, although a policeman who was also contaminated was released from hospital on Thursday. The Kremlin has angrily rejected Britain’s claims and Russian officials have offered numerous alternative explanations, including that London directed the attack itself or that Washington may have been involved.

Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats they said were spies, and Russia responded in kind, also halting the activities of the British Council cultural and educational organisation.Earlier Friday, British diplomats left their Moscow mission in several minibuses and the remaining diplomatic staff sent them off with a round of applause, Russian television showed. </s> The European Union has backed Britain over the Salisbury nerve agent attack, agreeing that the only plausible explanation is that Russia is responsible.

The decision came after Prime Minister Theresa May gave EU leaders at the European Council summit in Brussels a detailed account of the evidence which led the UK to point the finger of blame at Moscow.

In a late-night statement, the leaders of the EU’s 28 member states said they agreed with the UK assessment that “it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation.”

And they added: “We stand in unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security.”

The announcement came as reports suggested that as many as five EU countries – France, Poland and the three Baltic states – are considering following Britain’s lead by expelling suspected Russian spies.

It marked a significant victory for Mrs May, who had faced reluctance from some EU countries with close links to Moscow, such as Greece and Bulgaria, to make a direct accusation against the regime of President Vladimir Putin.

Foreign ministers of the 28-nation bloc issued a statement on Monday voicing “unqualified solidarity” with the UK, but stopping short of pointing the finger of blame at Moscow for the March 4 attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Addressing the other 27 EU leaders over dinner, Mrs May set out the four pillars of evidence which the UK believe put Russia in the frame:

– The positive identification by experts at Porton Down of the specific chemical used as a type of Novichok nerve agent;

– The knowledge that Russia has produced this agent within the last 10 years and remains capable of doing so;

– Britain’s assessment that Russia views defectors as suitable targets for assassination.

Mrs May also shared top-grade UK intelligence on the attack with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s president Emmanuel Macron on the margins of the summit to discuss the international response to Salisbury.

Lithuania’s president Dalia Grybauskaite declared publicly that she was considering expelling Russian spies from her country.

But Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras was more cautious, saying: “We have to express solidarity to the British people for the Salisbury case, but we also need to be responsible on that issue.”

Arriving at the summit, Mrs May said she would tell fellow leaders that she sees the attack on Mr Skripal as part of a pattern of Russian aggression which threatens the continent’s democracies and requires a united response.

Wearing a white ribbon in commemoration of terror attacks in Westminster and Brussels, the Prime Minister said: “Russia staged a brazen and reckless attack against the United Kingdom when it attempted the murder of two people in the streets of Salisbury.

“I will be raising this issue with my counterparts today because it is clear that the Russian threat doesn’t respect borders and indeed the incident in Salisbury was part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe and its near neighbours from the western Balkans to the Middle East.”

Meanwhile, in London, Russia’s ambassador Alexander Yakovenko condemned Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s comparison between Mr Putin hosting this summer’s World Cup with Hitler’s 1936 Olympics.

“Nobody has the right to insult the Russian people, who defeated the Nazis,” he said.

Mr Yakovenko demanded evidence for Britain’s allegation that Russia was behind the Salisbury attack, saying official statements on the poisoning had been “wild” and the UK had “built its official position on pure assumptions”.

The response of the Government had created “serious problems” in the Russia-UK relationship, he said. </s> Brussels, March 23 (IANS) The EU has recalled its ambassador from Moscow after leaders on the continent sided with Britain over the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in the UK, saying it was “highly likely” Moscow was responsible for the attack.

Following a summit in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack, the European Council of EU leaders agreed “there was no plausible alternative explanation”, the BBC reported.

“We stand in unqualified solidarity with the UK in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security,” the statement by the European Council said.

British leader Theresa May said the Salisbury poisoning was “part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe”.

Moscow denies responsibility for the attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. They remain in a critical but stable condition after the attack on March 4.

The EU said its ambassador to Russia was recalled “for consultations”. European Council’s President Donald Tusk tweeted that all leaders agreed Russia’s responsibility for the attack was highly likely.

France, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were reportedly considering expelling Russian diplomats as requested by the UK government, in a coordinated strike against Moscow, according to a Guardian report.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said: “All of us, we are considering such measures.” She added that she had not congratulated Putin on his re-election.

On Thursday night, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the EU ambassador to Russia was being recalled to consult with Brussels over the Salisbury attack. Rutte characterised this as a “measure” rather than a formal “sanction” against Moscow.

Britain had expelled 23 Russian diplomats in retaliation for the nerve agent attack. In the run-up to Thursday’s summit, British officials shared intelligence with their EU counterparts about the issue.

Theresa May also met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in Brussels and a spokesperson of Downing 10 claimed that “the UK, Germany and France reaffirmed that there is no plausible explanation other than that the Russian state was responsible”.

The three leaders agreed on “the importance of sending a strong European message in response to Russia’s actions and agreed to remain in close contact in coming days,” a spokesperson was quoted as saying. </s> European Union leaders have backed Britain in blaming Moscow over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England, raising the possibility of additional retaliatory steps by some European countries.

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 also 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".

After discussions over dinner in Brussels, they added: "We stand in unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security."

May accused Russia of the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War II after Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter were found unconscious in the city of Salisbury on March 4.

The attack has sparked tit-for-tat retaliation. 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.

Over a dinner of lamb, May called on EU leaders to work together to confront the challenge Russia presented.

"Russia staged a brazen and reckless attack against the United Kingdom," May had said on arrival at the summit.

"It's clear that the Russian threat does not respect borders and indeed the incident in Salisbury was a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe and its near neighbours." </s> Britain pushed on Thursday to get the rest of the European Union to squarely condemn Moscow over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England.

Prime Minister Theresa May, also grappling with Britain’s departure from the bloc, is asking European Union states to crack down together on Russian spies that could be preparing similar attacks, diplomats at the EU summit said.

She received strong support from France and Germany but had yet to convince Russia doves to blame Moscow directly over the assault.

“Russia staged a brazen and reckless attack against the United Kingdom,” May told reporters. “It’s clear that the Russian threat does not respect borders and indeed the incident in Salisbury was a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe and its near neighbours.”

May accused Russia of the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two after Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter were found unconscious in the city of Salisbury on March 4.

May has expelled 23 Russian diplomats as undercover spies. Moscow, which has denied involvement in the attack, has taken retaliatory steps.

After May met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the summit, a French government source said the three “agreed to deliver a strong European message in response to Russian actions”.

A British spokesman said they “reaffirmed that there is no plausible explanation other than that the Russian state was responsible”.

Macron, Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump have already said in a joint statement with May that they share Britain’s assessment of Russian culpability.

EU leaders sparred at dinner over whether to match that language, as they also discussed taking “coordinated action” over the attack. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said she was ready to expel Russian spies.

Diplomats said so was another Russia hawk in the EU, Poland. But, with the bloc traditionally split on how to handle Moscow, where President Vladimir Putin secured a fourth presidential term last Sunday, they were waiting to see who else would join.

Slovakia’s new prime minister, Peter Pellegrini, backed a draft summit statement of all EU leaders, which for now only says they take “extremely seriously” London’s assessment that it was highly likely Russia was responsible for the attack.

Pellegrini said he wanted “constructive dialogue” with Russia.

Greece and Hungary are also reluctant to sharpen the wording over the poisoning of the Skripals, who British authorities say have been critically ill since the attack by a Soviet-produced, military-grade nerve agent called Novichok.

May will also ask fellow European leaders to step up intelligence cooperation to go after Russian spy networks further down the line, diplomats said.

“Britain says there are these networks that organise such things like Salisbury, that these networks exist across our borders and that it would be good to go after them together,” a senior EU diplomat said.

Another diplomat said: “There is movement among several willing states to do something together in reaction to Skripal.” The person added this would be done bilaterally so as not to press more reluctant member states too hard.

Russia’s ambassador to London, Vladimir Yakovenko, on Thursday said that, had Novichok been used, the Skripals would have died. A British judge said separately the attack may have left the Skripals brain-damaged and that it was unclear whether they would recover.

Yakovenko 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.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin discussed Britain’s “unfriendly and provocative” policy at a session of the national security council, RIA news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying.

European Council President Donald Tusk, who chairs the summit and has sided with Britain, said the bloc should discuss how to better protect itself from chemical and biological attacks and beef up counter-intelligence.

“Russia has shown itself as a strategic enemy, not a strategic partner,” said a British official, who stressed however that Britain was not seeking new economic sanctions.

Ties between Russia and the West plummeted over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Kiev and support for rebels in east Ukraine. Both have triggered EU sanctions. </s> European Union leaders united behind British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday in blaming Russia for a nerve agent attack in England, and agreed to recall their ambassador to Moscow for consultations.

Some states are now considering following Britain’s lead in expelling Russian diplomats, with Lithuania and France among those indicating a willingness to take action.

British Prime Minister Theresa May had pressed the importance of a united response to the March 4 poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury.

At a summit in Brussels, the 28 EU leaders offered her their full support, agreeing “that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation”.

They pledged to “coordinate on the consequences”, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said they had agreed to recall the bloc’s ambassador to Moscow for consultations.

“Some member states are looking into possibly expelling Russian diplomats or recalling national diplomats,” an EU official added.

Moscow strongly denies any involvement but London has identified the chemical used as the Soviet-designed Novichok, and says Russia had the means and the motive to carry out the attack.

May emphasised to EU leaders that it came as part of a “pattern of Russian aggression” and warned Moscow would pose a threat for “years to come” — long past Britain’s exit from the bloc in March next year.

“The threat that Russia poses respects no borders and it is a threat to our values,” she said after briefing fellow leaders over dinner.

“It is right that here in the EU council we are standing together to uphold those values.”

The Skripals are both in a coma after they were found collapsed on a park bench, although a policeman who was also contaminated was released from hospital on Thursday.

The United States, France and Germany offered early backing for the conclusion that Moscow was to blame for the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War II.

But Britain’s efforts to win a tough line from all 28 EU members ran up against countries keen to protect their Kremlin ties, notably Greece and Italy.

May met French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel shortly before the dinner, and both called for a “strong European message”, their offices said.

“We had an in-depth, very long discussion and said in a very unified way that it was highly likely that Russia was behind the attack, that there could not be another explanation,” Merkel said after the meeting of all 28 leaders.

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.

Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats they said were spies, and has been pressing EU allies to follow suit.

Lithuania’s outspoken President Dalia Grybauskaite said: “All of us we are considering such measures.”

A French presidency source earlier said Paris was also ready to act.

“Some countries, like France, are ready for possible measures to be decided at a national level in cooperation with other European countries,” the source said.

London also suspended high-level diplomatic contacts, including an official-level boycott of the World Cup football tournament in Russia this summer.

Moscow expelled its own diplomats and halted the activities of the British Council cultural organisation.

The Kremlin has angrily rejected Britain’s claims and Russian state media have offered numerous alternative explanations, including that London directed the attack itself.

Russian President Vladimir Putin convened a meeting of his national security council on Thursday to discuss “Britain’s hostile and provocative policy towards Russia”, according to a Kremlin statement.

Authorities have yet to disclose exactly how Skripal and his daughter were poisoned, although dozens of people in the area were assessed by medics for possible contamination.

Local policeman Nick Bailey was hospitalised following the incident but was released on Thursday.

“Normal life for me will probably never be the same,” he told reporters.

Britain believes it knows the exact type of chemical used and where it came from, but has called in experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to test its samples, as required by international law.

Their tests, which a British judge ordered Thursday could include samples of blood from Skripal and his daughter, are expected to take at least a fortnight.
The European Union agrees with the United Kingdom's assessment of the incident, stating that "there is no plausible alternative explanation" to Russian involvement.