France's Foreign Minister signalled that Paris was considering expelling Russian diplomats in solidarity with Britain, which ordered out 23 "undeclared intelligence agents" after a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy.
France's Foreign Minister signalled that Paris was considering expelling Russian diplomats in solidarity with Britain, which ordered out 23 "undeclared intelligence agents" after a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy.
"You will see," said Jean-Yves Le Drian, on a visit to Kiev, when asked whether France would expel Russian diplomats or recall its ambassador to Moscow.
Several European governments moved closer on Friday to expelling Russian diplomats in a show of support for Britain, which ordered out 23 "undeclared intelligence agents" after a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy.
In a boost for Prime Minister Theresa May, the European Union as a whole agreed late on Thursday to pin the blame on Moscow for the attack, which a judge in England said may have left Sergei Skripal and his daughter brain damaged.
That hardened previous EU language on the issue as French President Emmanuel Macron and others helped May overcome hesitation on the part of some of Moscow's friendlier states, some of whom questioned how definitive Britain's evidence is.
In a symbolic move that displayed unity of purpose, the bloc also recalled the EU ambassador to Russia for consultations -- a conventional form of diplomatic protest. A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said he regretted the move. The EU said the envoy was expected back in Brussels over the weekend.
And in a sign that nations were prepared to go further to punish Russia, which denies any involvement in the attack, several EU leaders said on Friday they were considering expelling diplomats.
"What we will now consider in the coming days is whether we want to take individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland," Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters as he arrived at the second day of an EU summit in Brussels.
"So we would have to do a security assessment just like they (Britain) did ... We're not going to randomly expel people."
Britain has been pressing for coordinated action against Russia after the Skripals were found slumped on a bench in the English city of Salisbury on March 4 in what was the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two.
Welcoming the solidarity she secured from a summit that moved on to discuss Brexit after May left on Friday morning, May told reporters: "The threat from Russia is one that respects no borders and I think it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans and it is right that we stand together in defence of those values."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Europeans were being drawn by London and Washington into an anti-Russian campaign.
Some British officials were pressing other countries to expel diplomats after London told 23 Russians to leave, a move followed by measures in Moscow, including the closure of Britain's cultural centre in St Petersburg.
But first May had to convince others to back a tough statement saying that the EU "agreed" with her government "that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation".
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