Donald Trump backs UK expulsion of Russian diplomats as 'just response' to Skripal attack
2 min read
President Trump has offered his firm backing to Theresa May over the Salisbury attack, saying the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the UK is a "just response" to a "pattern of behaviour" from Russia.
The backing from the White House came after the Prime Minister announced that 23 Russian officials identified as "undeclared intelligence agents" would have to leave the country within a week.
The Russian ambassador, Alexander Yakovenko, promised there would be retaliatory action from his government, observing that "in diplomacy there is always reciprocity".
It follows last week's attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, both of whom remain in intensive care in hospital.
Government experts have identified the nerve agent used in the attack as Novichock, a deadly chemical developed under the Soviet Union.
However the Russian government has hit back by claiming the agent could have been produced in the UK.
In a statement yesterday President Trump's spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders offered the clearest condemnation yet of the Putin government, saying:
“The United States shares the United Kingdom’s assessment that Russia is responsible for the reckless nerve agent attack on a British citizen and his daughter, and we support the United Kingdom’s decision to expel Russian diplomats as a just response.
"This latest action by Russia 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. The United States is working together with our allies and partners to ensure that this kind of abhorrent attack does not happen again.”
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, also pointed the finger of blame at the Kremlin.
"If we don't take immediate concrete measures to address this now, Salisbury will not be the last place we see chemical weapons used," she said.
"They could be used here in New York or in cities of any country that sits on this council."
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