Scores of Russian spies are being expelled from capitals across the globe, as allies stand in solidarity with Great Britain in an unprecedented show of support over the Salisbury nerve agent attack. More than 100 Russian diplomats have been ejected from the United States and 22 other nations.
The US has announced the expulsion of 60 Russians, including including 12 intelligence officers from Russia’s mission to UN headquarters in New York.
Trump’s ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, welcomed the move and said: ‘Here in New York, Russia uses the United Nations as a safe haven for dangerous activities within our own borders.’
Spokeswomen for the White House and the State Department, along with Haley and US ambassador to Moscow Jon Huntsman condemned the alleged Russian attack.
But Trump himself, who was expected to tweet on the subject, was silent.
Germany, France and Poland each expelled four diplomats, with Lithuania, Latvia and the Czech Republic also taking action. Ukraine – not an EU state – joined the European revolt by expelling 13 diplomats.
Canada followed suit by expelling three Kremlin staffers and, in a flurry of action yesterday evening, both Hungary and Norway announced the expulsion of one diplomat respectively. Soon after Spain announced the expulsion of two.
Macedonia will also expel one Russian diplomat after consultation with ‘our allies and partners, the EU and NATO’, and in solidarity with Britain.
Malta also expressed support for the UK.
However, the island refrained from expelling diplomatic staff from Russia itself due to their ‘very small’ mission in Moscow.
Australia also stood in solidarity with the UK, expelling two Russian diplomats this morning after waking the news of unilateral condemnation of Russia.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and minister for foreign affairs Julie Bishop issued a statement saying two Russian diplomats identified as ‘undeclared intelligence officers’ would be directed to leave the country within seven days.
The statement added: ‘This decision reflects the shocking nature of the attack – the first offensive use of chemical weapons in Europe since the Second World War, involving a highly lethal substance in a populated area, endangering countless other members of the community.’
The extraordinary Western response is a major diplomatic coup for Theresa May, who has spent days warning allies that they could face similar Russian aggression if they stand by.
The Prime Minister said the united response showed Mr Putin’s attempt to use the Salisbury attack to split the West had ‘spectacularly backfired’.
She told MPs: ‘This is the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history.
‘If the Kremlin’s goal is to intimidate and divide the Western alliance then their efforts have spectacularly backfired.
‘Today’s actions by our allies clearly demonstrate that we all stand shoulder to shoulder in sending the strongest signal to the Kremlin that Russia cannot continue to flout international law and threaten our security.’
She added the Government was ‘dismantling the Russian espionage network’ in the UK.
‘We will not allow it to be rebuilt. We are urgently developing proposals for new legislative powers to harden our defences against all forms of hostile state activity.’
The expulsions mark the strongest stance President Donald Trump has taken against Russia since coming to office.
He has been criticized by Democrats and members of his own Republican Party for failing to be tough enough on Russia over US allegations of Russian meddling in the US electoral system including the 2016 presidential campaign.
The Kremlin reacted in kind, threatening to ‘respond to every country’.
Russia’s ambassador to the US said the move had ‘ruined what is left of Russian-U.S. ties,’ threatening Washington by saying they will bear responsibility for the consequences.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow will proceed from the ‘principle of reciprocity’ while mulling over its response to the decisions made by Washington and EU countries.
Peskov added the Foreign Ministry will analyze the situation and present a proposal to Putin – who will make the ultimate decision on how to respond.
Russian UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called it ‘a very unfortunate, very unfriendly move’.
A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry said: ‘The provocative gesture of solidarity with London by these countries, who have bowed to the British authorities in the so-called Skripal affair and did not bother to understand the circumstances of what happened, is a continuation of the confrontational path to escalation.
‘Britain’s allies … are blindly following the principle of Euro-Atlantic unity, to the detriment of common sense, the norms of civilized international dialogue, and the principles of international law.’
‘It goes without saying that this unfriendly act by this group of countries will not go without notice and we will react to it.’
Announcing the EU’s coordinated action, President of the European Council Donald Tusk said: ‘Last week the European council condemned in the strongest possible terms the recent attack on Salisbury.
‘The European Council agreed with the UK government assessment that its highly likely the Russian federation is responsible and there is no plausible alternative explanation.
‘And we decided to recall the EU ambassador to Russia for consultation. As a direct follow up to last week’s European council decision to react to Russia within a commons framework already today 17 member states have decided to expel Russian diplomats.
‘Additional measures including further expulsions within the EU framework, are not to be excluded in the coming days and weeks.
‘We remain critical of the actions of the Russian government.’
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said his decision to expel 13 diplomats was taken ‘in the spirit of solidarity with our British partners and transatlantic allies and in coordination with EU countries’.
Czech President Milos Zeman revealed he had asked his spy service to check if the nerve agent novichok had ever been produced in the Czech Republic.
A spokesman for Mr Zeman said: ‘The president has tasked the BIS to find out whether or not the nerve gas novichok was developed or stored on the Czech Republic’s territory, be it at industrial or scientific facilities.’
In a bizarre move, Ukraine’s Twitter account posted a message mocking the Kremlin.
It posted a gif showing Doctor’s Who’s arch nemesis ‘the master’ waving with the words ‘bye bye’.
Relations between Ukraine and Russia are extremely tense after Moscow annexed Crimea and sparked a civil war in Ukraine which is still raging.
In an equally peculiar turn, the Russian Embassy in the US posted a poll on Twitter, asking its followers to vote on which US consulate it should close.
Daily Mail
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