The United States is siding with the United Kingdom’s assessment that Russia is likely responsible for the poisoning in England of Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter using a military-grade nerve agent.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a March 12 statement that “we have full confidence in the UK’s investigation and its assessment that Russia was likely responsible for the nerve agent attack that took place in Salisbury last week. There is never a justification for this type of attack – the attempted murder of a private citizen on the soil of a sovereign nation – and we are outraged that Russia appears to have again engaged in such behavior. From Ukraine to Syria – and now the UK – Russia continues to be an irresponsible force of instability in the world, acting with open disregard for the sovereignty of other states and the life of their citizens. We agree that those responsible – both those who committed the crime and those who ordered it – must face appropriately serious consequences. We stand in solidarity with our allies in the United Kingdom and will continue to coordinate closely our responses.”
The tougher stance could lead to even harsher sanctions against Russia, if Western nations coordinate their actions.
Russia’s rogue state behavior continues to grow with the latest attack, adding to the Kremlin’s list of crimes, including support for the chemical-agent using Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the invasion of the eastern Donbas, cyber-attacks on its neighbors including Estonia and interference with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
According to Reuters, May told parliament that either the Russian state was directly responsible for the poisoning or it had allowed the nerve agent to get into the hands of others. London has given Russia until the end of March 13 to explain its use. British officials had identified the substance as being part of the Novichok group of nerve agents that were developed by the Soviet military during the 1970s and 1980s, May said.
