UK to suspend all bilateral contacts with Russia, EU expresses support

As a reaction to the attack on a former Russian spy, the UK is to suspend all bilateral contacts with Russia and has expelled 23 Russian diplomats out of the country, European media outlets widely report today. President Putin did not react directly, ITV1 reports, but Russia has called the UK’s reaction “hostile, unacceptable, and unjustified,” and said retaliation “will be forthcoming,” Le Figaro indicates. A Russian government spokesperson says Prime Minister May is destroying international law and is not a serious politician, BBC1 adds, while Kommersant reports that Moscow promised to respond to the “unprecedented gross provocation” from London in the near future.

Faced with suggestions that Russian-funded channel RT could be stopped from broadcasting in the UK, a senior RT official threatens that British journalists could be banned from Russia if this occurs. PM May called a UN Security Council extraordinary meeting and demanded that the matter be part of next week’s European Council meeting. President Tusk said he will place the issue on the agenda of next week’s EU summit, Il Corriere della Serra adds. The Daily Telegraph reports that the UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is to warn today that Britain is ‘at a profound moment in its history and cannot sit back and let events overtake it’. De Morgen adds that London fears that fake accounts may exploit the slumbering division in Northern Ireland, and that the UK and Germany are discussing a boycott of the World Cup in Russia.

The EU has shown its support with London over the chemical attack on British soil, Le Figaro reports, adding that Russo-European relations have reached a new low. First Vice-President Timmermans said that if there was proof that nerve gas was used against a Member State, then the question should be handled by all the EU, and not left to the British government alone, the Italian media indicate. Interviewed by BFM TV, British ambassador to France Edward Llewellyn calls on Europe to form a united front, and says the whole Europe should be concerned about Russia’s behaviour. He adds the UK is prepared to consider further measures if necessary. Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU will adopt a common position on the affair, but French President Emmanuel Macron was much more cautious, Il Corriere della Sera indicates. Both leaders want to keep dialogue with Vladimir Putin open, and the EU is unlikely to tighten sanctions against Russia, the Italian daily adds. Gazeta Wyborcza also indicates that it does not seem possible to impose harsher sanctions on Russia, as maintaining them as they are would already be a success.

Among the comments in the British media today, a Daily Telegraph editorial notes that “expressions of sympathy and solidarity from our allies are welcome, but they need to be translated into collective action”. A Times editorial moreover comments that “this case is of vital interest to Nato. It is the first offensive use of a nerve agent on alliance territory since Nato’s foundation. Britain should be lobbying for a Nato-wide response’. Comments are also numerous in other countries. Gunnar Jonsson writes in an editorial in Dagens Nyheter that the EU and NATO need to lend their support to the UK, to prevent one murder from being followed by multiple others. German media are predominantly critical of Prime Minister May: Gabi Kostorz notes on German ARD that PM May sees the incident as “an attack on the British people,” however, she has yet to present any evidence of Russian involvement in the attack.

Speaking on Deutschlandfunk, Sabine Stöhr argues that President Putin could have committed the attack to intensify the conflict between Russia and the West shortly before the election in order to strengthen his positions. However, she thinks it is unlikely as another international conflict would isolate Russia further. The attack could been conducted by the Russian secret services, she adds. In Corriere della Sera, Franco Venturini says that, although PM May might have adopted “warlike” tones, her actions were less severe. Jędrzej Bielecki from Rzeczpospolita further notes that Chancellor Merkel, who so far has supported sanctions, does not plan to withdraw from Nord Stream 2. In other countries like Italy, Austria or Hungary voters sympathise with pro-Russian parties, he adds. Commenting on the muted response from the US, a Washington Post article comments: ‘here in London, many are asking whether President Trump dismissed Rex Tillerson because the State Department’s statement on the Skripal poisonings used the word “Russia”.’