Trump, Macron, Merkel, and May Join Forces to Condemn Russia

An extraordinary joint statement signed by the leaders of the U.K., the U.S., France, and Germany has blamed Russia for the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal on British soil. Theresa May, Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, and Angela Merkel all put their names to a statement that holds Russia responsible for the attack and urges the Kremlin to provide full disclosure about the nerve agent that was used in the attempted murder of the ex-spy and his daughter, Yulia. The statement reads: “This use of a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War. 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.” It goes on to directly implicate Russia, saying: “We share the U.K. assessment that there is no plausible alternative explanation, and note that Russia’s failure to address the legitimate request by the U.K. government further underlines its responsibility. We call on Russia to address all questions related to the attack in Salisbury. Russia should in particular provide full and complete disclosure of the Novichok programme to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.” It concludes: “We call on Russia to live up to its responsibility as a member of the U.N. Security Council to uphold international peace and security.”