LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May called on Tuesday for a “long-term response” by the West to the security threat from Russia as NATO followed member states in expelling Russian diplomats over the poisoning of a double agent in England.

In the most sweeping such action against Moscow since the height of the Cold War, the United States and European Union members plan to expel scores of Russian diplomats in action against the Kremlin for the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter which they have blamed on Russia.

Russia, which denies any part in the March 4 attack on the Skripals, says the West’s action is a “provocative gesture” and has said it will respond.

The coordinated action among Western allies is seen as a huge diplomatic coup for May whose country is preparing to exit the EU bloc and may have had doubts about how much support she could count on.

Speaking to senior cabinet members in London on Tuesday, May said countries had acted against Russia not just out of solidarity but because they recognized the threat it posed.

“Yesterday was a significant moment in our response to this reckless act of aggression, but there is still more to be done as we work with international partners on a long-term response to the challenge posed by Russia,” her spokesman reported May as saying.

The U.S.-led NATO alliance followed suit announcing on Tuesday it was expelling seven diplomats from Russia’s mission at alliance headquarters in Brussels and blocking the appointment of three others, thus cutting the size of the mission to 20 people from 30.

“It sends a very clear message to Russia that it has costs,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

EU member Ireland and Moldova on Tuesday joined the list of those countries expelling Russian diplomats over the Skripal poisoning.

The list includes 22 European countries including Britain itself which led the way by expelling 23 diplomats.

In the toughest action that President Donald Trump has taken against Russia since coming to office, the United States has said it will expel 60 Russians, including 12 intelligence officers from Russia’s mission to the U.N. headquarters in New York.

It is also closing the Russian consulate in Seattle.

Trump discussed Russia in separate phone calls on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The leaders endorsed the Western response to Russia’s chemical weapons attack in Britain, including the expulsion of Russian diplomatic personnel, the White House said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis hailed the diplomatic expulsions as a statement to those who doubted the unity of NATO.

“Russia has the potential to be a partner with Europe ... (but) I think right now we have to recognize that they have chosen to seek a different relationship with the NATO nations,” he told reporters.

In Prague, Paul Ryan, the Republican U.S. House Speaker, on Tuesday commended unity shown over the affair. “It is important that we work in solidarity with each other, free people in democracies to stop Russia and condemn Russia for this kind of belligerent activity,” Ryan said.

Russia has not disclosed yet what retaliatory steps it will take. President Vladimir Putin was on Tuesday in the Siberian city of Kemerovo at the scene of a shopping mall fire which claimed many lives. He made no comment on the Skripal affair.

Skripal’s poisoning, which Britain says was caused by use of the Soviet-era military-grade nerve agent Novichok, is the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two.

The attack on the 66-year-old Skripal and Yulia Skripal, his 33-year-old daughter, took place in the English cathedral city of Salisbury where he had been living since being swapped in a spy exchange deal in 2010.

They were found on March 4 unconscious on a public bench in the city and a British court says they may have suffered permanent brain damage in the attack.

The Kremlin has accused Britain of whipping up an anti-Russia campaign and sought to cast doubt on the British analysis that Moscow was responsible.</s>A cameraman films outside the Russian embassy in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 26, 2018. — Reuters picLONDON, March 27 — Following yesterday’s mass expulsions of Russian diplomats by Britain’s allies, here are the main developments since the poisoning of a Russian former double agent in England.

On March 4, former spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, are found unconscious, slumped on a bench outside a shopping centre in Salisbury. They are now in a coma, in critical but stable condition in hospital.

Skripal is a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who was jailed for betraying agents to Britain’s MI6 secret service. He left Russia for England in a 2010 spy swap.

On March 7, police say they have been poisoned by a highly toxic nerve agent.

On March 12, British Prime Minister Theresa May says it is “highly likely Russia was responsible for the act”.

She tells British lawmakers the military-grade nerve agent used was identified as belonging to a group known as Novichok (“Newcomer”), developed by the Soviet government towards the end of the Cold War.

On March 13 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow is “not guilty”.

The United States denounces an “irresponsible” act and pledge their support for London. France and Germany follow the next day.

On March 14 London says Moscow is “culpable” and it will expel 23 of the 59 Russian diplomats in Britain.

It also suspends high-level diplomatic contact with Moscow and will keep royals at home during the 2018 football World Cup.

On March 15 in a rare joint declaration, Britain, France, Germany and the US blame Russia.

The 29-member Nato alliance expresses solidarity with Britain over what it calls the first offensive use of a nerve agent on the military alliance’s territory since World War II.

On March 16 British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says it is “overwhelmingly likely” Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind the poisoning.

The Kremlin says the accusation is “unforgivable.”

On March 17 Russia says it will expel 23 British diplomats and halt the activities of the British Council in Russia.

Re-elected to a fourth term on March 18, Putin calls the British accusations “drivel, rubbish”.

On March 19 the Kremlin demands London either come up with proof of Russia’s involvement or apologise.

In a telephone call to newly-re-elected Putin, US President Donald Trump does not raise the matter.

On March 20 international experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) arrive in Britain to take samples of the toxic substance.

On the same day, the expelled Russian diplomats leave Britain.

On March 21, the Russia foreign ministry tells a meeting of foreign diplomats that Britain either failed to protect Skripal from what it termed a “terrorist attack” or was itself behind the poisoning.

In an escalating war of words it criticises London’s “Russophobia”. The British embassy says Moscow is spreading “lies and disinformation”.

On March 22 a British police officer exposed to the nerve agent at the same time as Skripal is discharged from hospital.

European Union leaders meeting in Brussels blame Moscow for the spy attack and decide to recall the bloc’s ambassador to Moscow for consultations.

- Coordinated expulsions -On March 26 the United States, Canada, 14 European Union states and Ukraine announce coordinated expulsions of Russian diplomats.

The US says it is expelling 60 Russian “spies” and closing the Russian consulate in Seattle. It is the largest ever mass expulsion of Russian or Soviet officials from the United States, a senior US administration official says.

The 14 EU nations throw out a total of 30, while Ukraine ousts 13.

The Russian foreign ministry vows to retaliate against “a provocative gesture”. — AFP</s>Former Ukranian President, Victor Yushchenko pictured in 2005, soon after his poisoning (L) and in 2015 (R)

The former president of Ukraine has applauded the growing round of expulsions of Russian diplomats following the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, saying "I have no doubt" Moscow was behind the attack and that military action against Russia should not be ruled out.

Viktor Yushchenko was himself poisoned in 2004. He and his family believe the assassination attempt was ordered by Moscow when he attempted to steer Ukraine to closer integration with Europe.

Speaking to Sky News, accompanied by his American-born wife Katarina, Mr Yushchenko warned that the new-found solidarity between European states and the US was not enough on its own.

"I have no doubt (that Russia carried out the attack). I want western society - western governments and European governments in particular - to have no doubt too," he told Sky News in his Kiev office.

"I totally agree with the British position. I am glad that it has received international support and solidarity.

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"I think politically it is a very important position that is being developed with a united Europe and the United States.

"But I don't want it to end there with this single step, which we use to confront the modern imperial Russian policy."

'Russia will punish everyone,' says ex-leader

Mr Yushchenko is critical of western policies towards Russia over the past decades.

He insists that every Russian attempt to interfere in the working of other countries should be addressed immediately, even suggesting that military involvement should not be ruled out.

Expelling diplomats is not enough, he said.

"If we are talking about Russian policy for the last decade or 15 years, it is dangerous," he explains.

"Of course we should talk about the diplomatic component, but we should talk about the military component, we should talk about the safety component, economic, financial, humanitarian, sanctions.

"All these components are a mosaic which contains all these components which makes one strategy focused on changing Russian policy," he said.

"Of course we can talk of a defensive military component - when every Russian provocation is answered.

"Answering is not aggressive. We are not talking about conquering. We are talking about a normal reaction to the aggressive action of Russia on Ukrainian territory today."

Image: Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal were attacked using a nerve agent

Katarina Yushchenko said that when she heard of the attack on the Skripals, everything came flooding back.

"Of course it did. My husband has been through it, many other people have been through it," she said.

"What we are seeing is the hybrid war tactics that Russia has been using in Britain, Europe and the US - they are exactly what was done in the Ukraine many years ago.

"We are talking about poisoning. We are talking fake news. We are talking the financing of radical parties. We are seeing the same thing. It was a frightening repeat of what we saw happening in our country," she said.

Image: Police in forensic suits at a cemetery in Salisbury

Mr Yushchenko led the so-called "Orange Revolution" - a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005.

The poison used to attack him was dioxin, a primary component in the defoliating chemical known as Agent Orange.

Mrs Yushchenko believes it wasn't a coincidence.

"Our doctor in Switzerland thought that it was ironic. Russia often uses symbolism, uses key dates, they often use these types of things to send messages, so yes, I think it might have played a role. There is no doubt it was made only (in Russia) and everyone involved with it ran away and is now hiding in Moscow,” she added.

The former president says that the only way to control President Putin is a mixture of solidarity economics.

Reduce the use of his natural resources and the economy of Russia will fail, he says, adding that sticking together is the key.

He asked: "What does Putin fear the most?

"Solidarity, international solidarity. Look, the decision of 24 countries of the world to expel Russian diplomats - it is the most important story in the world. It is the most powerful blow delivered to Putin’s policies for months."</s>LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May called on Tuesday for a “long-term response” by the West to the security threat from Russia as NATO followed member states in expelling Russian diplomats over the poisoning of a double agent in England.

In the most sweeping such action against Moscow since the height of the Cold War, the United States and European Union members plan to expel scores of Russian diplomats in action against the Kremlin for the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter which they have blamed on Russia.

Russia, which denies any part in the March 4 attack on the Skripals, says the West’s action is a “provocative gesture” and has said it will respond.

The coordinated action among Western allies is seen as a huge diplomatic coup for May whose country is preparing to exit the EU bloc and may have had doubts about how much support she could count on.

Speaking to senior cabinet members in London on Tuesday, May said countries had acted against Russia not just out of solidarity but because they recognized the threat it posed.

“Yesterday was a significant moment in our response to this reckless act of aggression, but there is still more to be done as we work with international partners on a long-term response to the challenge posed by Russia,” her spokesman reported May as saying.

The U.S.-led NATO alliance followed suit announcing on Tuesday it was expelling seven diplomats from Russia’s mission at alliance headquarters in Brussels and blocking the appointment of three others, thus cutting the size of the mission to 20 people from 30.

“It sends a very clear message to Russia that it has costs,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

EU member Ireland and Moldova on Tuesday joined the list of those countries expelling Russian diplomats over the Skripal poisoning.

The list includes 22 European countries including Britain itself which led the way by expelling 23 diplomats.

In the toughest action that President Donald Trump has taken against Russia since coming to office, the United States has said it will expel 60 Russians, including 12 intelligence officers from Russia’s mission to the U.N. headquarters in New York.

It is also closing the Russian consulate in Seattle.

Trump discussed Russia in separate phone calls on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The leaders endorsed the Western response to Russia’s chemical weapons attack in Britain, including the expulsion of Russian diplomatic personnel, the White House said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis hailed the diplomatic expulsions as a statement to those who doubted the unity of NATO.

“Russia has the potential to be a partner with Europe ... (but) I think right now we have to recognize that they have chosen to seek a different relationship with the NATO nations,” he told reporters.

In Prague, Paul Ryan, the Republican U.S. House Speaker, on Tuesday commended unity shown over the affair. “It is important that we work in solidarity with each other, free people in democracies to stop Russia and condemn Russia for this kind of belligerent activity,” Ryan said.

Russia has not disclosed yet what retaliatory steps it will take. President Vladimir Putin was on Tuesday in the Siberian city of Kemerovo at the scene of a shopping mall fire which claimed many lives. He made no comment on the Skripal affair.

Skripal’s poisoning, which Britain says was caused by use of the Soviet-era military-grade nerve agent Novichok, is the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two.

The attack on the 66-year-old Skripal and Yulia Skripal, his 33-year-old daughter, took place in the English cathedral city of Salisbury where he had been living since being swapped in a spy exchange deal in 2010.

They were found on March 4 unconscious on a public bench in the city and a British court says they may have suffered permanent brain damage in the attack.

The Kremlin has accused Britain of whipping up an anti-Russia campaign and sought to cast doubt on the British analysis that Moscow was responsible.</s>The United States and more than a dozen European nations kicked out Russian diplomats on Monday and the Trump administration ordered Russia's consulate in Seattle to close, as the West sought joint punishment for Moscow's alleged role in poisoning an ex-spy in Britain.

Warning of an "unacceptably high" number of Russian spies in the U.S., the Trump administration said 60 diplomats would be expelled — all Russian intelligence agents working under diplomatic cover, the U.S. said. The group includes a dozen posted to Russia's mission to the United Nations who the officials said were engaged in "aggressive collection" of intelligence on American soil.

The move was one of the most significant actions President Donald Trump's administration has taken to date to punish Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin, especially over its intelligence activities. The last time they spoke, less than a week ago, Trump congratulated Putin for his re-election but didn't raise the spy case, Russia's alleged election-meddling in the U.S. or its own tainted voting process, prompting dismayed critiques even from Trump's fellow Republicans.

The American penalties were echoed by announcements in European capitals across the continent, including those in Russia's backyard.

Fourteen European Union nations were expelling Russian diplomats, EU chief Donald Tusk said, with more likely to follow. An EU official put the total from those countries at more than 30 Russians. Germany, Poland and France each planned to boot four, the Czech Republic three and Italy two.

Ukraine, a non-EU country with its own conflicts with Moscow, was expelling 13 Russians, President Petro Poroshenko said. All three Baltic states said they would kick diplomats out. Canada, too, said it was taking action, kicking out four and denying three who have applied to enter the country.

Almost all of the countries said publicly that the Russian diplomats they were expelling were actually spies.

The expulsions came with a chorus of condemnation for the Kremlin — for the poisoning, Russian spying and other Western grievances. Poland's Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz called it "the right response to the unfriendly, aggressive actions of Russia." In the Czech Republic, where Russian officials have claimed the poison may have originated, Prime Minister Andrej Babis dismissed that allegation as "an utter lie."

"The United States and many of our friends are sending a clear message that we will not stand for Russia's misconduct," said U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Trump's envoy to the U.N.

Russia's Embassy in Washington responded to the decisions on Twitter by hinting at retaliation, asking its followers to vote which U.S. consulate should be shuttered: St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg or Vladivostok.

In Washington, Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, was summoned early Friday to the State Department and told that the 60 diplomats would have one week to leave the country, a State Department official said. Antonov was later quoted by Russian news wire Tass as saying he "expressed resolute protest to the "illegal actions" and emphasized there's no proof of Russian involvement in the poisoning.

Russia's Consulate General in Seattle must close by April 2. The facility is a particular counter-intelligence concern to the U.S. because of its proximity to a U.S. Navy base, said the senior U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to be identified by name.

The U.S. actions appeared to signal an increased level of concern about the extent of Russian spying in the United States. Senior officials said they estimated Russia had roughly 100 intelligence officials at its diplomatic posts in the U.S., suggesting that dozens will remain even after the 60 are expelled.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the actions would make the U.S. safer by "reducing Russia's ability to spy on Americans and to conduct covert operations that threaten America's national security."

Britain has already expelled 23 Russian diplomats, accusing them of being undeclared intelligence agents, which led Russia to expel the same number of British diplomats. The European Union has already recalled its ambassador to Russia.

The steps on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean add to a serious escalation of tensions between Russia and the West that has been building since the March 4 poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer convicted of spying for the U.K., and his daughter, Yulia. The two remain in critical condition and unconscious. A policeman who responded to their home was also injured.

Britain has accused Moscow of perpetrating the attack using a Soviet-developed nerve agent known as Novichok. The U.S., France and Germany have agreed it's highly likely Russia was responsible. Russia's government has denied responsibility and has blasted Britain's investigation into the poisoning.

Monday's expulsions appear to involve the largest number of Russians kicked out of the United States since 1986, when the Reagan administration expelled 55. The George W. Bush administration expelled 50 Russians in 2001 in retaliation for Robert Hanssen spy case. In its waning days, the Obama administration expelled 35 over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has repeatedly wavered on whether he believes Moscow was behind the election-meddling, despite assessments from U.S. intelligence agencies and the special counsel investigation into Russia's actions and potential collusion with Trump's campaign. But this month, Trump's administration hit Russians with its first sanctions for the campaign interference, and also accused Moscow of an elaborate plot to hack America's electric grid and key infrastructure.</s>LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May was expected to announce retaliatory action against Russia on Wednesday after Moscow rejected her "unfounded accusations" over the poisoning of a Russian former double agent on UK soil.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated rapidly in the 10 days since ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were attacked with a nerve agent in sleepy Salisbury, southwest England.

The British premier said on Monday it was "highly likely" that Russia was behind the attack, either directly or because Moscow had "lost control" of the nerve agent, demanding answers by the end of Tuesday and threatening a "full range" of measures.

But Russia defied the deadline and President Vladimir Putin's spokesman on Wednesday rejected Britain's "unfounded accusations that are not based on evidence, and a language of ultimatums".

"We are hoping that common sense will prevail," Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

May is due to address parliament in the early afternoon after holding a meeting with her National Security Council to discuss the government's next move.

'Hitting economic targets' 

 The former director of Britain's communications spying agency GCHQ, Robert Hannigan, said her response should include "the expulsion of diplomats on a scale we probably haven't seen since the Cold War".

Speaking to BBC radio, Hannigan also backed "hitting the economic targets", including Russians doing business in London, but warned against a large-scale cyber attack.

Britain is wary of acting alone and has been rallying support from its allies.

"She believes that Russia is seeking to undermine the international rules-based system and that is something that we and are allies are obviously determined to defend," May's spokesman said on Tuesday.

In a phone call with US President Donald Trump, he and May "agreed on the need for consequences for those who use these heinous weapons in flagrant violation of international norms", the White House said.

'Reckless behaviour' 

 Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Tuesday spoke to his counterparts in France and Germany, as well as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

If Russia is found responsible, "this would be further reckless behaviour which threatens the international community and requires an international response," Johnson told them, according to the Foreign Office.

The spy saga comes at a particularly tense time for UK-EU relations, as the two sides are locked in Brexit talks, but Brussels' support is "unequivocal, unwavering and very strong" according to European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans.

Stoltenberg said the incident was "of great concern" amid reports that Britain was consulting NATO allies about possibly invoking the alliance's Article 5 principle of common defence.

Russian chemist blames Moscow 

 As Britain prepares its response, Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, remain in critical condition in hospital.

British experts say they were poisoned with military-grade nerve agent from a broad category known as Novichok, developed by the Soviet Union during the late stages of the Cold War.

The Russian chemist who first revealed the existence of Novichok, Vil Mirzayanov, said "only the Russians" developed the Novichok agents.

"They kept it and are still keeping it in secrecy," he said from his home in the US, where he moved in 1995 after 30 years of working for the State Scientific Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology.

Moscow has denied any involvement, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisting the Kremlin is ready to cooperate with Britain but complaining that its request for samples of the nerve agent had been rejected.

Dire relations between London and Moscow are not without precedent, with diplomats being expelled numerous times including in 2006 over the poisoning of former agent Alexander Litvinenko.

Anticipating such a move, the Russian embassy in London warned on Twitter of retaliatory measures.

"Any threat to take 'punitive' measures against Russia will meet with a response. The British side should be aware of that," it said.

May on Monday hinted at legislating to make it easier to seize the British assets of Russian officials suspected of human rights abuses, which could hit some of the super-rich Russians who have invested heavily in the London property market in recent years.

Imposing a boycott by British officials and royals of this summer's World Cup in Russia, while allowing the England team to play, is another possible response.

The first sign of action came from British communications regulator Ofcom, which said it could review the licence of the Kremlin-backed RT broadcaster if Russian involvement in the poisoning is proven.

Russia, in turn, threatened to ban all British media if RT loses its licence.

In a further twist, former senior Russian executive Nikolai Glushkov, linked to late Kremlin opponent Boris Berezovsky, was found dead in London on Tuesday in unexplained circumstances, British and Russian media reported.</s>Russia’s poisoning of a former spy in Britain is part of a strategy of conducting operations, and then denying responsibility for them, that is designed to divide the West, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday.

A day after Washington announced it was expelling 60 Russians in a show of support for Britain, Mattis said President Vladimir Putin’s denials of responsibility for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in southern England could not be taken seriously.

And he said it carried echoes of Russia’s 2014 invasion and subsequent annexation of Crimea carried out by armed men dressed in military fatigues but who were not wearing insignia.

“They’re doing things that they believe are deniable,” Mattis told reporters.

“And so they’re trying to break the unity of the Western alliance, NATO and — and that sort of thing,” he said.

“They take the insignia off soldiers’ uniforms and they go into Crimea. They say they have nothing to do with what’s going on with the separatists in eastern Ukraine,” Mattis added.

“I’m not sure how they can say that with a straight face.”

While most Western countries have pointed the finger firmly at Moscow, Britain’s opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has raised doubts that Putin was behind the poisoning, suggesting it might have been the work of “mafia-like groups” in Russia.

US President Donald Trump has been accused by his opponents of being too friendly towards Putin, criticizing him for failing to confront the Russian leader over the poisoning in a phone call last week when he congratulated him on his re-election.

However the banishing of the 60 Russians was the largest ever mass expulsion to be ordered by Washington.

It was accompanied by a warning from the White House that ties between Washington and Moscow could only improve “with a change in the Russian government’s behavior.”</s>Former Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko — who claims he was poisoned by Russia in 2004 — has supported the expulsion of Russia diplomats worldwide, but wants to see more action. Mr Yushchenko says he has no doubt Russia is responsible for the nerve agent attack in the UK.</s>The British Foreign Office has confirmed the content of a document with “proof” of alleged Russian involvement in the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter.



They say that it fully reflects the position of British prime minister Theresa May.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has previously stated that the chief executive of Porton Down Defence Science and Technology Laboratory had “amount to admitting” that the UK was developing combat poisoning substances.

In a statement, they now say that analysis of the Skripals’ case “shows that the UK authorities are not interested in finding out the motives or those responsible for the crime in Salisbury and suggests that the British intelligence services are involved in it.”

“The behavior of the British authorities raises many questions. The UK population is itself kept in the dark about the key moments of this announced serious threat of the incident, the total number of victims is unknown,” the statements reads.

The ministry has also accused the British lab in Porton Down of “hushing up information” in the wake of the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal.

“Information about the fact that the day before the poisoning of Skripals, the center together with the British military conducted exercises, during which the methods of combating chemical and biological contamination were practiced.”

In addition to this, “throughout the world, London has been developing a campaign to create an absolute presumption of Russia’s guilt,” a statement on the website of the Russian ministry reads.

According to Moscow, London is unable to protect Russian citizens on its soil.

“A blatant example of this is, in particular, the poisoning of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko, the death under unclear circumstances of Russian businessmen Badri Patarkatsishvili and Alexander Perepilichny, the mysterious “suicide” of Boris Berezovsky and the strangulation of his business partner Nikolai Glushkov and, finally, the assassination attempt of Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal.”

The ministry has emphasized that it would consider the poisoning of Skripals as an “assassination attempt” on the lives of Russians if the opposite was not proved by London.

The statement follows a statement made by the Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom, that earlier accused Gary Aitkenhead, the chief executive of Porton Down Defence Science and Technology Laboratory of “amount to admitting” that the United Kingdom was developing combat poisoning substances including those that had been used in the so-called “attack” on Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Last week, Aitkenhead said that no dangerous chemical could leave “four walls” of the laboratory because of “the highest levels of controls, of security around the work” that is being done there.

The UK Foreign Office has confirmed the content of the reported document with London’s “proof” of alleged Russian involvement in the poisoning of Skripal, saying that it “completely aligns” UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s stance on the case.

“We are grateful to the Russian MFA for giving this document more prominence. It is a useful run down of the Russian authorities’ reckless pattern of behaviour over the last few years, including the Salisbury incident,” the spokesperson said.

Earlier in the day Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that London and Washington had ignored Moscow’s request to send it a printed document related to the Skripal case.

In her Facebook page, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has commented on the Kommersant daily’s publication on what she said has prompted the expulsion of Russian diplomats in connection with Skripals’ poisoning.

“This is [UK Prime Minister] Theresa May’s fail. The largest manipulation of the world public opinion has been revealed, and British authorities are involved in it. Just assess it. The decisions on a state’s responsibility in a chemical attack were made on the basis of six pictures,” she wrote.

Earlier, she told Russia’s NTV Channel that the US and the UK had refused to heed Moscow’s call to deliver it a printed document pertaining to the Salisbury incident.

“The document, which is a sort of London’s explanations on what happened in Salisbury, has never been published by the media,” Zakharova said.

She added that the Russian Foreign Ministry had repeatedly tried to obtain the document, sending relevant requests to its British and American colleagues.

“We did so publicly but in response we received zero information,” she pointed out.

Zakharova’s remarks came a few days after more than 100 Russian diplomats have been expelled by about 20 European countries as well as the US, Canada and Ukraine over Moscow’s alleged involvement in the March 4 poisoning of former Russian intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Britain’s Salisbury.</s>Russia's poisoning of a former spy in Britain is part of a Kremlin strategy to divide the West by conducting covert operations and then fomenting doubt and disagreement over who's responsible, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said.

A day after more than two dozen governments around the world announced the explusion of 144 diplomats over the poisoning, Mattis told reporters in Washington on March 27 that Russian President Vladimir Putin's denials of responsibility for what he called the "attempted murder" of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury cannot be taken seriously.

Mattis said the Salisbury incident involved the "pretty obvious" use of a "weapon of mass destruction," which the British government has identified as the military-grade nerve agent Novichok, developed by Russia during the Cold War.

It was part of a pattern seen in Russia's actions, Mattis said, starting in Ukraine in 2014, where he said Moscow sent armed men without insignias into Crimea and has provided fighters and weapons under cover to Ukrainian separatists.

Mattis said Russia's subterfuge continued through covert efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

"They take the insignia off soldiers' uniforms and they go into Crimea. They say they have nothing to do with what's going on with the separatists in eastern Ukraine," Mattis added.

"I'm not sure how they can say that with a straight face," he said, but "they're doing things that they believe are deniable."

"And so they're trying to break the unity of the Western alliance, NATO," he said, by promoting doubt and disputes over who is responsible.

NATO joined more than two dozen governments in putting up a united front to reject the Russian tactics on March 27. A total of 144 in announced expulsions of Russian staff from embassies and missions worlwide dwarfed similar measures taken during Cold War spying disputes.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the expulsions would send a message to Russia that there are "costs and consequences for their unacceptable pattern of behavior."

British leaders hailed the sweeping moves as a potential "turning point," while Russia asserted that it was the result of "colossal" pressure by the United States and vowed to respond.

"Never before have so many countries come together to expel Russian diplomats," British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson wrote in The Times, calling it "a "blow from which Russian intelligence will need many years to recover."

"The Western alliance took decisive action...against the Kremlin's reckless ambitions," and its tactics of disinformation and denial, he wrote.

"There was a time when this tactic of sowing doubt might have been effective, but no one is fooled any more. I believe yesterday was a moment when the cynicism of the propaganda machine was exposed for all to see," Johnson said.

Stoltenberg said NATO would remain "open to dialogue" with Russia and Mattis said Russia still "has the potential to be a partner with Europe."

But the Pentagon chief added that Moscow instead "has chosen to be a strategic competitor, even to the point of reckless activity."

With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa, and The Times
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, himself the victim of a September 2004 poisoning, calls for military action to be considered against Russia.