16 March 2018 - Russia Poisons Ex-Spy in the UK
Russian spy: Theresa May visits Salisbury after 'brazen' attack
(BBC News, 15/03/2018)
Theresa May has visited Salisbury after the "brazen" nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy and his daughter.
The prime minister was briefed by public health experts, as the pair remain critically ill in hospital.
Mrs May has said Russia is "culpable" for the attack and that she is expelling 23 Russian diplomats - but Moscow denies all involvement.
Global Leaders Condemn Russia Over 'First Offensive Use' Of Nerve Agent In Europe Since WW2
James Martin (The Huffington Post UK, 15/03/2018)
Britain’s allies dramatically stepped up pressure against Russia today, issuing a joint statement condemning the “first offensive use” of a military-grade nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War.
The leaders of France, Germany and the United States joined the UK in claiming the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, was an “assault on UK sovereignty” and a “clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law”.
The statement added that the countries supported the UK’s position that Russia was responsible for the attack.
Theresa May Expels Russian Diplomats. But Now Comes the Hard Part.
Richard Pérez-Peña and Stephen Castle (The New York Times, 14/03/2018)
Few world leaders have looked weaker than Theresa May, the British prime minister. Yet in Parliament on Wednesday, she vowed to stand tough in the escalating confrontation with Russia over the use of a nerve agent to poison one of its former spies on British soil.
In language reminiscent of the Cold War, Mrs. May — until recently, accused at home of not being hard enough on Moscow — expelled 23 Russians she said were spies, promised a crackdown on corrupt Russians and the money they funnel into Britain, and called off high-level contacts between the two governments.
Suddenly, she is the most forceful Western leader in denouncing President Vladimir V. Putin’s government, which she portrayed as a malevolent and lawless force.
‘Whatever happens, happens’: how Britons in Russia see diplomatic row
Andrew Roth (The Guardian, 16/03/2018)
The statement from the Foreign Office committee was terse: “Due to heightened political tensions between the UK and Russia, you should be aware of the possibility of anti-British sentiment or harassment at this time.”
In Moscow, Gergely Stewart, 33, says he is receiving concerned calls from family in the UK for the first time since he moved to Russia in 2012. “Are you OK?” they ask him. “Is everything going to be OK?”
Things are OK, he tells the Guardian. Originally from London, he is happy in Moscow, where he is married and has his own recruitment company with a dozen employees. Like many expats working in business, he largely steers clear of politics.