U.S. joins France, Germany and UK to blame Russia for nerve agent attack in Britain

Jane Onyanga-Omara | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption U.K. expels nearly 2 dozen Russian diplomats after attack on ex-spy Britain is expelling 23 Russian diplomats after the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy — the single biggest such expulsion since the Cold War.

LONDON — In a rare joint statement, the United States, France and Germany joined Britain on Thursday in blaming Russia for poisoning a former spy and his daughter, calling the attack “the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe" since World War II.

President Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May said “there is no plausible alternative explanation” to Russian responsibility.

"It is an assault on U.K. sovereignty and any such use by a state party is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law. It threatens the security of us all," the statement said.

The leaders called on Russia "to address all questions related to the attack," and provide a complete disclosure of the Novichok (nerve agent) program to the world chemical weapons watchdog." the statement said.

The statement comes as Britain seeks international support to hold Russia accountable for the March 4 attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33. Both remain hospitalized in serious condition after they were found slumped on a bench in the city of Salisbury in southern England.

British authorities said they were poisoned with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent developed in Russia.

Sergei Skripal moved to Salisbury after being jailed for passing Russian state secrets to British intelligence while working for the Russian government in the 1990s.

In separate action in Washington, the Trump administration issued sanctions on a number of Russian entities for a wide range of behavior, including attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

Britain's May on Wednesday ordered 23 Russians to leave the United Kingdom within a week, after Russia ignored a midnight deadline to explain how the nerve agent was used to target the Skripals. Britain said the Russians being expelled were undeclared intelligence officers.

It is the largest expulsion of diplomats from Britain since the Cold War. May also said her government will cancel all high-level bilateral contacts with Russia, which denies any involvement in the poisoning.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that the allegations were unacceptable and that British diplomats would be expelled, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.

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Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Russia will take retaliatory measures against the United Kingdom.

“Russia is perplexed and does not comprehend the stance by the British leadership and the British side against the backdrop of Skripals' case," Peskov said, according to Russia's TASS news agency.

"The accusations are unsubstantiated, moreover, these accusations surfaced even before any information on the used substance could appear," he said.

May’s office said in a statement that she discussed the investigation with France's Macron on Thursday morning.

“President Macron said that France completely shares the U.K.’s assessment that there is no plausible explanation other than that Russia was responsible for the attack and he once again expressed his full support for the U.K. as a close and strong ally,” the statement said.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, blamed Moscow for the attack at a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting Wednesday.

"If we don’t take immediate, concrete measures to address this now, Salisbury will not be the last place we see chemical weapons used. If we don't take immediate action, they could be used here in New York," she said.

Haley called the crisis a "defining moment" for the U.N. and said the United States was solidly behind Britain.