WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States shares Britain’s assessment that Russia was responsible for a nerve agent attack in Britain against a former Russian double agent and supports Britain’s decision to expel Russian diplomats, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said the attack “fits into a pattern of behaviour in which Russia disregards the international rules-based order, undermines the sovereignty and security of countries worldwide, and attempts to subvert and discredit Western democratic institutions and processes.”