Theresa May to tell EU leaders they must toughen up on Russia — or put all of Europe at risk
The PM has warned other European leaders that Putin’s aggression will last 'for years' if they don't start taking a tougher stance
THERESA May will tell EU leaders they must all toughen up on Russia - or put all of Europe at threat.
Vladimir Putin’s alarming aggression will last “for years”, the PM will also warn at a Brussels summit.
And she will insist that his refusal to respect international laws and borders means the whole continent is now at risk.
It emerged tonight that she has also began to urge the 27 other member states to order their own Russian spy expulsions to send a strong joint message to the Kremlin over the Salisbury nerve agent outrage.
Mrs May will tell leaders over the summit dinner on Thursday: “The challenge of Russia is one that will endure for years to come.
“As a European democracy the United Kingdom will stand shoulder to shoulder with the European Union and with NATO to face these threats together.
“United, we will succeed.”
Mrs May’s battle cry comes as EU bosses gather to try to end their divisions over how to respond to the Kremlin’s shocking chemical weapons use as an assassination bid on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia.
EU Council president Donald Tusk slapped down fellow EU chief, Commission boss Jean-Claude Juncker for sending Putin a slavish congratulations letter for his election triumph on Sunday.
Mr Tusk said: “After the Salisbury attack, I’m not in the mood to celebrate President Putin’s reappointment”.
British, French and US diplomats had an extraordinary confrontation with senior Russian officials in Moscow yesterday.
The ally countries refused to send their ambassadors in the Russian capital to a briefing by arms controls experts who argued how Russia could not have been responsible for the Novichok nerve agent attack.
Instead, a lowly female British diplomat stood up at the meeting and read out the PM’s charge sheet of responsibility.
Livid Kremlin officials hit back by blaming the UK for the Salisbury outrage.
Head of the Russian foreign ministry’s arms control department Vladimir Yermakov said: “The British authorities are either unable to ensure protection from such a terrorist attack on its territory, or they directly or indirectly directed the attack on a Russian national”.
Britain could also have destroyed key evidence, the official claimed.
In his hardest comments on Putin so far, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson accused him of mounting the Salisbury attack just to get more votes.
Boris told MPs: “It is often attractive to conjure up the public image of an enemy.
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"It was an attempt to excite a Russian electorate”.
But the Cabinet minister refused to agree to act on MPs’ demands to close down financial loopholes.
During a grilling yesterday, Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat revealed £2bn in bonds were sold in London last week in a suspected bid to rinse Russian money.
Moderate Labour MP Ian Austin told Boris: “We think there should be a much more urgent approach to tackle money brought to this country by people responsible for corruption and human rights abuses in Russia”.
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