Europe’s leaders agree to blow up Vladimir Putin’s spy network after Theresa May shares bombshell MI6 secrets with them
Hundreds of Kremlin operatives will face the boot from more than a dozen EU capitals from Monday, leaders declared
EUROPE’S leaders agreed to blow up Vladimir Putin’s spy network after Theresa May shared bombshell MI6 secrets with them.
Hundreds of Kremlin operatives face the boot from more than a dozen EU capitals from Monday, EU chiefs last night declared at a Brussels summit.
The PM secured the major boost for her shown down against Moscow by revealing behind closed doors what intelligence chiefs have discovered about Putin’s Novichok nerve agent assassination programme.
Germany, Ireland, Denmark, Croatia and the Czech Republic were the latest member states to pledge ‘diplomtic’ expulsions last night.
They joined five others who agreed to follow Mrs May’s lead on Thursday night, with more to follow.
The coordinated action will begin early next week, and leave Putin’s notorious network of agents across Europe decimated.
Leaving the summit today, Mrs May revealed she has been “sharing what intelligence we can with our colleagues”.
In a second diplomatic triumph for her, the EU also made a unanimous declaration that Russia is responsible for the Salisbury outrage and recalled its ambassador to Moscow as punishment – dubbed by EU Council boss Jean-Claude Juncker as “an extraordinary measure which we have never done before”.
Explaining the impact of our spy chiefs’ work on the leaders marathon four hour discussion on Russia that ran late into Thursday night, Lithuanian leader Dalia Grybauskaite said: “We got more detailed information from Prime Minister May, it was very good and trustable information.
“It influenced our decision. This allowed us to be very much united.
“From the beginning of next week a lot countries will go for national measures.”
Bulgaria’s premier Boyko Borisov branded the stand off with Russia as “worse than the Cold War”, saying: “During the Cold War there were rules. Now I am not optimistic for the peaceful future of the world”.
Hailing the EU’s unity in the face of the threat, Council president Donald Tusk said its firm response had come “despite the tough Brexit negotiations”.
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But splits still existed last night amid a North-South divide across the EU over how tough to be on the Kremlin, as some members refused to carry out Russian spy expulsions.
Hungary denied being one of the wobblers, heaping blame instead on Greece and Italy.
The dramatic developments came as 23 British diplomats flew home from Moscow yesterday after Russia expelled them in a tat for tat response for Britain throwing out 23 Russian spies on Tuesday.
Moscow was furious at the EU’s tough stand and blamed Britain.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Mrs May’s government of “feverishly trying to force allies to take confrontational steps" and trying to make the crisis “as deep as possible".