Russia’s alleged poisoning of a former spy in the United Kingdom drew the condemnation of Europe’s top diplomats, who echoed British complaints that the incident violated bans on the use of chemical weapons.
“The European Union takes extremely seriously the UK Government’s assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible,” the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union said Monday.
That’s a rhetorical boost to British Prime Minister Theresa May, who accused Russia of using chemical weapon developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War in an attempt to assassinate Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent. Russia has denied any responsibility for the incident, which has prompted diplomats’ expulsions on both sides and threats of further sparring.
“The use of chemical weapons by anyone under any circumstances is completely unacceptable and constitutes a security threat to us all,” the EU foreign ministers said. “Any such use is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, a breach of international law and undermines the rules-based international order.”
That statement came one day after Putin’s victory in a fourth presidential election, securing him another six years in office. Russian officials have suggested that the United Kingdom staged the poisoning incident in order to embarrass him before voters went to the polls in an election that western observers regard as effectively rigged for him to win.
“Sooner or later they will have to be responsible for these allegations: they will either have to provide some evidence or apologize,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.
“British officials have invited international monitors to review their findings, but they refuse to send samples of Russia directly. I think most people listening will think that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons would be a more impartial judge in this matter,” U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said last week.
It’s not clear what actions the EU might be willing to take against Russia in light of the statement.
“[W]e assume that Russia will remain a difficult partner,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Monday. “But Russia is also needed when it comes to resolving the major international conflicts and that is why we want to remain in dialogue.”
