EU leaders back Britain in blaming Russia over spy poisoning

British Prime Minister Theresa May, center, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron, left, meet on the sidelines of an EU summit at the Europa building in Brussels on Thursday, March 22, 2018. (Ludovic Marin, Pool Photo via AP)

BRUSSELS — British Prime Minister Theresa May won the support of 27 other European Union (EU) leaders on Thursday in blaming Russia for the poisoning of a former spy on English soil.

EU chief Donald Tusk tweeted the 28 leaders agreed with Britain that it is “highly likely Russia is responsible … and that there is no other plausible explanation.”

The unanimity is a victory for May. She has been striving to persuade her EU colleagues to unite in condemning Moscow over the attack on Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer convicted of spying for Britain; and his daughter, Yulia.

The foreign ministers of EU member-countries already had expressed their “unqualified solidarity” with Britain. But European politicians and leaders varied in how far they were willing to go in blaming Russia President Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin.

The president of former Soviet state Lithuania said she was considering expelling Russian diplomats in the wake of the March 4 attack. The Greek prime minister, in contrast, said more investigating needed to be done before drawing conclusions.

Russia has denied responsibility and slammed Britain’s investigation of the nerve-agent attack.

The Skripals remain unconscious in critical but stable condition from the attack in the English city of Salisbury that has sparked an east-west diplomatic crisis reminiscent of the Cold War.

Health officials said on Thursday that Detective Sgt. Nick Bailey, a police officer who became seriously ill after responding to the nerve agent attack, has been released from a Salisbury hospital.

Britain blames Moscow for the attack, which it said used a military-grade, Soviet-developed nerve agent; and has called Russia a growing threat to Western democracies. Russia has fiercely denied allegations it poisoned the Skripals.

On Thursday, May accused Russia of staging “a brazen and reckless attack,” saying “it is clear that the Russian threat doesn’t respect borders.”

She also said the “incident in Salisbury was part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe and its near neighbors, from the western Balkans to the Middle East.”

Britain and Russia have expelled 23 of each other’s diplomats in a feud that shows no signs of cooling.

Russia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Alexander Yakovenko, said on Thursday his country “can’t take British words for granted.” He accused the UK of having a “bad record of violating international law and misleading the international community.”

“History shows that British statements must be verified,” he told reporters in London, demanding “full transparency of the investigation and full cooperation with Russia” and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Britain said it is complying with the international chemical-weapons watchdog.

Experts from the OPCW have come to Britain to take samples of the nerve agent and examine blood from the unconscious Skripals.

May urged the 27 other leaders over dinner at the EU summit in Brussels to make a strong statement against Russian President Vladimir Putin and to bolster European defenses against Kremlin cyber-meddling and other aggression.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave May strong backing after meeting her on the sidelines of the EU summit.

The British prime minister’s office said they agreed that “there is no plausible explanation other than that the Russian state was responsible.”

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, whose former Soviet state shares a border with Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, also offered her full backing to Britain and said she was weighing whether to expel Russian diplomats from her country over the Salisbury attack.

German politician Manfred Weber, leader of the biggest group in the European Parliament, said Putin “wants to destabilize the European idea” and Europe must be strong in its response.

But Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was more cautious. He said, “(W)e have to express our solidarity to the UK, to the British people, but at the same time we need to investigate.”

Putin’s office said on Thursday that Tsipras had called Putin to congratulate him on his re-election and discuss issues, including the Salisbury poisoning.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said he wanted to hear what May had to say before making up his mind.

“First I listen, and then I take a decision,” he said.

EU Council President Donald Tusk is seen by the UK as supportive, but British officials are irked that another top EU official, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, congratulated Putin on his victory in Russia’s presidential election on Sunday.

The Salisbury attack has sent relations between London and Moscow to Cold War-style lows.

On Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was “emetic” — vomit-inducing — that Putin is rejoicing over hosting the World Cup soccer tournament this summer. Russia responded that Johnson was “poisoned with venom of malice and hate.”

Johnson also said Russia’s hosting of the tournament could be compared to the 1936 Olympics, which was used as a propaganda exercise by Nazi Germany.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called that comparison an “utterly disgusting statement that is unworthy of a foreign minister of any country.”

Russia has repeatedly said the nerve agent used against the Skripals could have come from another country or a non-state group.

The independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported on Thursday that Leonid Rink, an expert involved in developing Novichok — the type of nerve agent used on the Skripals — had sold a few ampules of it decades ago to crime groups, including to Chechen mobsters.

Bailey, the UK police officer, said he had been overwhelmed by the support for him during a “completely surreal” experience.

“I recognize that ‘normal’ life for me will probably never be the same,” Bailey said.

Appealing for privacy for his family, Bailey said: “I want people to focus on the investigation — not the police officer, who was unfortunate enough to be caught up in it.”                                    /kga