Russia may attempt to use chemical weapons to assassinate individuals in the U.S., the top American intelligence official said Thursday.
“It’s a risk,” Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said during the Aspen Security Forum. “The Russians do bold things and extraordinary things.”
[Sarah Sanders: Discussions are underway to bring Putin to Washington this fall]
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s team has denied British allegations that Russia used “a military-grade nerve agent” to attack a former Russian military intelligence officer who worked as a double-agent for the United Kingdom. The target, Sergei Skripal, survived the March incident, but a woman in a neighboring town died after an an apparent exposure to vestiges of the chemical weapon.
“The pushback that we had with the combination of our partners against Russia on this was very very important, sending the right signal,” Coats told NBC’s Andrew Mitchell, who conducted the Aspen interview. “But it should have told the world that if you think the Russians are trying to still be good neighbors, these are the kind of things they do.”
The U.S. expelled 60 Russian officials, as part of a concerted move by Western powers to punish the breach of the international ban on the use of chemical weapons; more than 150 diplomats and intelligence officials, worldwide, were blacklisted.
“If we don’t take immediate concrete measures to address this now, Salisbury will not be the last place we see chemical weapons used,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the Security Council at the time. “They could be used here in New York, or in cities of any country that sits on this Council. This is a defining moment.”
Putin maintains it is a baseless accusation designed by intelligence officials who want to undermine diplomatic ties between Russia and the West.
“Since you have mentioned the Skripal case, we would like to get at least some sort of a document and evidence about it, but nobody gives it to us,” Putin told Fox News’ Chris Wallace during an interview after his Helsinki meeting with President Trump.
Coats gave no credence to those denials, adding that he holds Putin personally responsible for the incident. “It is very clear that virtually nothing happens there, of any consequence, that Vladimir Putin either doesn’t know about or hasn’t ordered,” he said.
