Russia's ambassador has written to the police officer treated in hospital after the Salisbury attack, wishing him a "full recovery" and assuring him Russia had "nothing to do with this reckless incident".

Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was discharged from hospital on Thursday after several weeks of treatment.

He was one of the first to respond to the nerve agent attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Alexander Yakovenko, Russia's UK ambassador, wrote: "I was relieved to hear you were released from hospital and reunited with your family. I wish you full recovery and hope that you will be able to return to your normal life as soon as possible.

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your bravery when reacting to the assault on two Russian nationals, Sergei and Yulia Skripal, on 4 March in Salisbury, who I hope will get well soon too.

"Please be assured that Russia has nothing to do with this reckless incident and is ready to cooperate with the British authorities with regard to the investigation both bilaterally and through international organisations."

After leaving hospital, DS Bailey, 38, said in a written statement that his experience had been "completely surreal".

He said: "People ask me how I am feeling - but there are really no words to explain how I feel right now.

"I have been so very overwhelmed by the support, cards and messages I have received - everyone has been so incredible."

His wife, Sarah, also released a statement that said their world had been "turned upside down" and the attack was "the most traumatic event of our life".

The ambassador's letter strikes a different tone to his news conference in London earlier this week where he hit back at UK government assertions that Russia was behind the nerve agent attack.

Mr Yakovenko told reporters that Russia "can't take British words for granted," and accused the UK of having a "bad record of violating international law and misleading the international community".

The diplomatic fallout from the Salisbury incident on 4 March continues.

A "large number" of EU countries are set to impose tougher sanctions on Russia after agreeing with the UK claim that the Russian state is to blame.

It is understood nations including France, Estonia, Poland and Lithuania are preparing to expel Russian diplomats - or spies posing as diplomats - from their countries.

Britain has already expelled diplomats from the London embassy, and Russia has now followed suit.

Meanwhile, the bench where the Skripals were found frothing at the mouth and unable to control their bodies has been removed.

Police in chemical suits wrapped it in plastic film and used an angle grinder to cut it from the ground, before hauling it into a back of a van.

It is being kept as evidence as part of the attempted murder investigation.

Sergei and Yulia Skripal remain critical and largely unresponsive in hospital.

A court on Thursday approved a request for international chemical weapons experts to take a sample of their blood to check the UK's view that they were poisoned with the novichok nerve agent.

The Court of Protection said it was unclear whether they will recover, and if they do their mental capacity could be affected to an unknown degree.</s>MOSCOW (Reuters) - Stronger ties between Russia and China are good for everyone, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, adding that Moscow and Beijing would remain long-term strategic partners regardless of the result of Russia's 2018 presidential polls.

Putin also told his annual news conference that China was looking with great interest at Russia's northern sea route in the Arctic which could significantly cut the time for shipments of goods between Asia and Europe.

 Putin said Russia would support China's further involvement in Russian projects, including in the energy sector.

 

 (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk, Vladimir Soldatkin and Jack Stubbs; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Polina Devitt)</s>Sergey Kapchuk, 45, filmed last week flanked by two bodyguards, claims he is now in hiding in an unnamed continental European country. He earlier claimed he had moved from number 12 to 11 on the alleged hit list after the suspicious death of fellow London-based oligarch Nikolai Glushkov this month. Kapchuk announced last week he had cancelled plans to be among a group of exiled Russians planning to return to Moscow. And now in a dramatic U-turn he has claimed to have fled London as he no longer feels safe due to risk of British “provocation”. Britain and Russia remain at loggerheads over the attempted murder of MI6 double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.

“I simply packed my things and immediately left the country” Explaining his U-turn, Kapchuk said: “I understood that I am not of interest either for the FSB, nor for Russian (foreign) intelligence. “And the British secret service might organise some sort of provocation, in my opinion. “So I did not wait for it. I simply packed my things and immediately left the country. “I am in continental Europe now."

He made clear he now believed his life was in danger because of the UK - and his bank accounts and credit cards had been suddenly blocked. Kapchuk said: “Some game is going on. I did not read the rules, I do not know the producer. And I do not wish to be a piece in this chess game." He picked out Good Morning Britain for allegedly treating him unfairly after the poisoning of double agent Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Russia has denied all involvement in the poisoning on the spy, and police continue to probe the death of Glushkov.

He claimed Good Morning Britain did not broadcast an interview after he said “only British government along with Theresa May can benefit” from the Skripal case, a line echoing Moscow’s view. After fleeing to the continent “all my credit cards stopped working,” he claimed. Kapchuk said he would not return to Britain any time soon as he is “not sure sure about safety in London”. He said: “My life is more precious for me than any money.”

Kapchuk admitted that he had recontacted Boris Titov who is acting as a middleman from the Kremlin in encouraging London exiles to return to Moscow with their money. He said: “I would like to have my Motherland on my side in this situation. You know, when we are in trouble, we usually get back to our parents – same story. "I am a citizen of Russia, I have never said anything baseless about my country and I won’t do it.” Britain and Russia have both issued threats to the other as relations plunges to lows not seen since the Cold War.</s>BRUSSELS - European Union (EU) leaders backed Britain on Thursday in blaming Moscow over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England and recalled their envoy to Moscow in a symbolic protest.

The show of support from the EU, at a time when Britain is grappling with its departure from the bloc, will boost Prime Minister Theresa May, who has been asking other nations to match her decision to expel Russians over the attack.

In a joint summit statement, the leaders said the EU “agrees with the United Kingdom government’s assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation”.

That marked a breakthrough for Britain, which had been seeking to persuade EU leaders to condemn Russia for the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter on 4 March. It was the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two.

After talks that ran into the early hours of Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the prospect of further punitive measures in response to the attack in the southwestern city of Salisbury, saying the European Union would strive to act together on the matter.

“We are determined to react together, with the language we used here, but also possibly through additional measures,” Merkel said at the end of the first day of the summit.

May’s move to expel 23 “undeclared intelligence officials” was followed by similar measures from Moscow, including the closure of Britain’s cultural centre in St Petersburg.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said she was ready to expel Russian spies. Other Baltic states and Poland could do so too. The European Union will recall their envoy to Moscow, German diplomat Markus Ederer, for one month for consultations.

May, who used a dinner with EU leaders to call on all governments to confront Russia, welcomed the support.

“The threat that Russia poses respects no borders,” she told reporters. “This is about us standing together to uphold our values.”

In the early days after the attack, May won the support of French President Emmanuel Macron, Merkel and US President Donald Trump when they said they shared Britain’s assessment of Russian culpability.

But in Brussels, May had to convince Russia’s allies Greece, Hungary and Bulgaria.

Highlighting the bloc’s familiar divisions on how to handle Russia, Slovakia’s new prime minister, Peter Pellegrini, said he wanted “constructive dialogue” with Moscow despite the poisoning of the Skripals. British authorities say the pair have been critically ill since the attack by a Soviet-designed, military-grade nerve agent called Novichok.

Leaders agreed to increase their defences against Russian “hybrid” threats, including in disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks and covert actions.

May has also asked fellow European leaders to step up intelligence cooperation to start going after Russian spy networks, diplomats said.

“Britain says there are these networks that organise such things like Salisbury, that these networks exist across our borders and that it would be good to go after them together,” a senior EU diplomat said.

Russia has offered several different motives to explain the attack on the Skripals, who may have been left brain-damaged, and to absolve Moscow of responsibility. London has labelled that disinformation and distraction.

On Thursday, Moscow’s ambassador to London, Vladimir Yakovenko, said that, had Novichok been used, the Skripals would have died and he rebuked British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for comparing Russia’s hosting of the soccer World Cup this summer with Nazi Germany’s hosting of the Olympics in 1936.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin discussed Britain’s “unfriendly and provocative” policy at a session of the national security council, RIA news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying.

Ties between Russia and the West plummeted over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for rebels in eastern Ukraine. Both have triggered rounds of EU sanctions.

“Russia has shown itself as a strategic enemy, not a strategic partner,” a British official said.</s>WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is considering the expulsion of some Russian diplomats in the United States in solidarity with Britain over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in England, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday.

The move may be contingent on how European capitals respond to the nerve agent attack, the source said.

An announcement of the U.S. decision could be made as early as Monday, the source said.

European Union member states agreed on Friday to take additional punitive measures against Russia for the nerve-agent attack on the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who have been critical in hospital since they were found unconscious on March 4 on a bench in the city of Salisbury.

White House spokesman Raj Shah said the United States is considering how to respond but would not provide details.

"The United States stands firmly with the United Kingdom in condemning Russia´s outrageous action. The President is always considering options to hold Russia accountable in response to its malign activities. We have no announcements at this time," he said.

Moscow has denied responsibility for the attack and has retaliated against Britain´s move to expel 23 Russians by ordering out the same number of Britons.

The United States joined with Britain in blaming Russia for the attack.

Trump has sought to improve ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and last week in a phone call with Putin congratulated him his disputed re-election victory. (Reporting By Steve Holland; editing by Grant McCool)</s>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders backed Britain on Thursday in blaming Moscow over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England and recalled their envoy to Moscow in a symbolic protest.

The show of support from the EU, at a time when Britain is grappling with its departure from the bloc, will boost Prime Minister Theresa May, who has been asking other nations to match her decision to expel Russians over the attack.

In a joint summit statement, the leaders said the EU “agrees with the United Kingdom government’s assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation”.

That marked a breakthrough for Britain, which had been seeking to persuade EU leaders to condemn Russia for the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter on March 4. It was the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two.

After talks that ran into the early hours of Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the prospect of further punitive measures in response to the attack in the southwestern city of Salisbury, saying the European Union would strive to act together on the matter.

“We are determined to react together, with the language we used here, but also possibly through additional measures,” Merkel said at the end of the first day of the summit.

May’s move to expel 23 “undeclared intelligence officials” was followed by similar measures from Moscow, including the closure of Britain’s cultural centre in St Petersburg.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said she was ready to expel Russian spies. Other Baltic states and Poland could do so too. The European Union will recall their envoy to Moscow, German diplomat Markus Ederer, for one month for consultations.

May, who used a dinner with EU leaders to call on all governments to confront Russia, welcomed the support.

“The threat that Russia poses respects no borders,” she told reporters. “This is about us standing together to uphold our values.”

In the early days after the attack, May won the support of French President Emmanuel Macron, Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump when they said they shared Britain’s assessment of Russian culpability.

But in Brussels, May had to convince Russia’s allies Greece, Hungary and Bulgaria.

Highlighting the bloc’s familiar divisions on how to handle Russia, Slovakia’s new prime minister, Peter Pellegrini, said he wanted “constructive dialogue” with Moscow despite the poisoning of the Skripals. British authorities say the pair have been critically ill since the attack by a Soviet-designed, military-grade nerve agent called Novichok.

Leaders agreed to increase their defences against Russian “hybrid” threats, including in disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks and covert actions.

May has also asked fellow European leaders to step up intelligence cooperation to start going after Russian spy networks, diplomats said.

“Britain says there are these networks that organise such things like Salisbury, that these networks exist across our borders and that it would be good to go after them together,” a senior EU diplomat said.

Russia has offered several different motives to explain the attack on the Skripals, who may have been left brain-damaged, and to absolve Moscow of responsibility. London has labelled that disinformation and distraction.

On Thursday, Moscow’s ambassador to London, Vladimir Yakovenko, said that, had Novichok been used, the Skripals would have died and he rebuked British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for comparing Russia’s hosting of the soccer World Cup this summer with Nazi Germany’s hosting of the Olympics in 1936.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin discussed Britain’s “unfriendly and provocative” policy at a session of the national security council, RIA news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying.

Ties between Russia and the West plummeted over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for rebels in eastern Ukraine. Both have triggered rounds of EU sanctions.

“Russia has shown itself as a strategic enemy, not a strategic partner,” a British official said.</s>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders backed Britain on Thursday in blaming Moscow over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England and recalled their envoy to Moscow in a symbolic protest.

The show of support from the EU, at a time when Britain is grappling with its departure from the bloc, will boost Prime Minister Theresa May, who has been asking other nations to match her decision to expel Russians over the attack.

In a joint summit statement, the leaders said the EU “agrees with the United Kingdom government’s assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation”.

That marked a breakthrough for Britain, which had been seeking to persuade EU leaders to condemn Russia for the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter on March 4. It was the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two.

After talks that ran into the early hours of Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the prospect of further punitive measures in response to the attack in the southwestern city of Salisbury, saying the European Union would strive to act together on the matter.

“We are determined to react together, with the language we used here, but also possibly through additional measures,” Merkel said at the end of the first day of the summit.

May’s move to expel 23 “undeclared intelligence officials” was followed by similar measures from Moscow, including the closure of Britain’s cultural centre in St Petersburg.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said she was ready to expel Russian spies. Other Baltic states and Poland could do so too. The European Union will recall their envoy to Moscow, German diplomat Markus Ederer, for one month for consultations.

May, who used a dinner with EU leaders to call on all governments to confront Russia, welcomed the support.

“The threat that Russia poses respects no borders,” she told reporters. “This is about us standing together to uphold our values.”

In the early days after the attack, May won the support of French President Emmanuel Macron, Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump when they said they shared Britain’s assessment of Russian culpability.

But in Brussels, May had to convince Russia’s allies Greece, Hungary and Bulgaria.

Highlighting the bloc’s familiar divisions on how to handle Russia, Slovakia’s new prime minister, Peter Pellegrini, said he wanted “constructive dialogue” with Moscow despite the poisoning of the Skripals. British authorities say the pair have been critically ill since the attack by a Soviet-designed, military-grade nerve agent called Novichok.

Leaders agreed to increase their defences against Russian “hybrid” threats, including in disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks and covert actions.

May has also asked fellow European leaders to step up intelligence cooperation to start going after Russian spy networks, diplomats said.

“Britain says there are these networks that organise such things like Salisbury, that these networks exist across our borders and that it would be good to go after them together,” a senior EU diplomat said.

Russia has offered several different motives to explain the attack on the Skripals, who may have been left brain-damaged, and to absolve Moscow of responsibility. London has labelled that disinformation and distraction.

On Thursday, Moscow’s ambassador to London, Vladimir Yakovenko, said that, had Novichok been used, the Skripals would have died and he rebuked British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for comparing Russia’s hosting of the soccer World Cup this summer with Nazi Germany’s hosting of the Olympics in 1936.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin discussed Britain’s “unfriendly and provocative” policy at a session of the national security council, RIA news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying.

Ties between Russia and the West plummeted over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for rebels in eastern Ukraine. Both have triggered rounds of EU sanctions.

“Russia has shown itself as a strategic enemy, not a strategic partner,” a British official said.</s>President Donald Trump is likely to expel dozens of Russian diplomats in retaliation for the Kremlin’s alleged involvement in a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in Britain, according to a media report published Saturday.

Trump agreed to the expulsions after hearing recommendations from advisers, who developed possible responses to the attack in National Security Council meetings on Wednesday and Friday, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The measures are expected to be announced Monday, though officials cautioned that Trump’s decision may not be final.

If the Trump administration boots Russian diplomats, it would mark the second punitive action against Moscow in as many weeks. The White House sanctioned 19 Russian nationals on March 15 for meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

That same day, the White House declared in a statement that it was “highly likely” that Moscow was responsible for the attack on Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer living in Britain, and his daughter Yulia.

Administration officials also suggested the sanctions for election meddling would not be the only response to alleged Kremlin activity against Western targets.

White House officials have reportedly been mulling a response to the Skripal incident that would mirror the one taken by British Prime Minister Theresa May, who ordered 23 undeclared Russian spies masquerading as diplomats to leave the U.K.

Trump is prepared to take similar action but wants to be sure European allies will follow suit before doing so, according to the Bloomberg report.

Despite having confronted Moscow with a wide range of economic and military responses, Trump remains under fire from critics who say he is too conciliatory to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The latest round of outrage flared up Wednesday, when Trump congratulated Putin on his recent win in the Russian presidential election before reading briefing notes reminding him not to do so.

Trump immediately dismissed the flurry of criticism, arguing that is important to have a working relationship with the Russian leader even as the diplomatic spat between Washington and Moscow worsens.

“They are wrong!” Trump wrote on Twitter Wednesday. “Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing.”

Trump’s much-scrutinized outreach to Putin stands in contrast to his administration’s increasingly hawkish approach to Russia policy.

Notably, Russia hawks now occupy many of the top seats on Trump’s foreign policy team, with Mike Pompeo taking over at the State Department, John Bolton set to become a national security adviser, and Nikki Haley representing Washington in the United Nations.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert spoke on Friday night about Russia in much tougher terms than Trump.

“The United States is considering a range of options to respond to Russia’s outrageous actions in the U.K., both to demonstrate our solidarity with our ally and to hold Russia accountable for its clear breach of international norms and agreements,” she said.

Moscow has denied any involvement in Skripal’s poisoning. The Kremlin announced last week it would respond in kind to Britain’s expulsion of Russian personnel by declaring 23 British diplomats “persona non grata” and closing the British consulate in St. Petersburg.

A version of this story previously appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.

What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</s>European Union leaders united behind British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday in blaming Russia for a nerve agent attack in England, and agreed to recall their ambassador to Moscow for consultations.

Some states are now considering following Britain’s lead in expelling Russian diplomats, with Lithuania and France among those indicating a willingness to take action.

British Prime Minister Theresa May had pressed the importance of a united response to the March 4 poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury.

At a summit in Brussels, the 28 EU leaders offered her their full support, agreeing “that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation”.

They pledged to “coordinate on the consequences”, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said they had agreed to recall the bloc’s ambassador to Moscow for consultations.

“Some member states are looking into possibly expelling Russian diplomats or recalling national diplomats,” an EU official added.

Moscow strongly denies any involvement but London has identified the chemical used as the Soviet-designed Novichok, and says Russia had the means and the motive to carry out the attack.

May emphasised to EU leaders that it came as part of a “pattern of Russian aggression” and warned Moscow would pose a threat for “years to come” — long past Britain’s exit from the bloc in March next year.

“The threat that Russia poses respects no borders and it is a threat to our values,” she said after briefing fellow leaders over dinner.

“It is right that here in the EU council we are standing together to uphold those values.”

The Skripals are both in a coma after they were found collapsed on a park bench, although a policeman who was also contaminated was released from hospital on Thursday.

The United States, France and Germany offered early backing for the conclusion that Moscow was to blame for the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War II.

But Britain’s efforts to win a tough line from all 28 EU members ran up against countries keen to protect their Kremlin ties, notably Greece and Italy.

May met French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel shortly before the dinner, and both called for a “strong European message”, their offices said.

“We had an in-depth, very long discussion and said in a very unified way that it was highly likely that Russia was behind the attack, that there could not be another explanation,” Merkel said after the meeting of all 28 leaders.

The poisoning has heightened worries across Europe about Russian meddling — from repeated cyber attacks to what the EU has called an “orchestrated strategy” of disinformation aimed at destabilising the bloc.

Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats they said were spies, and has been pressing EU allies to follow suit.

Lithuania’s outspoken President Dalia Grybauskaite said: “All of us we are considering such measures.”

A French presidency source earlier said Paris was also ready to act.

“Some countries, like France, are ready for possible measures to be decided at a national level in cooperation with other European countries,” the source said.

London also suspended high-level diplomatic contacts, including an official-level boycott of the World Cup football tournament in Russia this summer.

Moscow expelled its own diplomats and halted the activities of the British Council cultural organisation.

The Kremlin has angrily rejected Britain’s claims and Russian state media have offered numerous alternative explanations, including that London directed the attack itself.

Russian President Vladimir Putin convened a meeting of his national security council on Thursday to discuss “Britain’s hostile and provocative policy towards Russia”, according to a Kremlin statement.

Authorities have yet to disclose exactly how Skripal and his daughter were poisoned, although dozens of people in the area were assessed by medics for possible contamination.

Local policeman Nick Bailey was hospitalised following the incident but was released on Thursday.

“Normal life for me will probably never be the same,” he told reporters.

Britain believes it knows the exact type of chemical used and where it came from, but has called in experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to test its samples, as required by international law.

Their tests, which a British judge ordered Thursday could include samples of blood from Skripal and his daughter, are expected to take at least a fortnight.</s>President Donald Trump is likely to expel dozens of Russian diplomats in retaliation for the Kremlin’s alleged involvement in a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in Britain, according to a media report published Saturday.

Trump agreed to the expulsions after hearing recommendations from advisers, who developed possible responses to the attack in National Security Council meetings on Wednesday and Friday, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The measures are expected to be announced Monday, though officials cautioned that Trump’s decision may not be final.

If the Trump administration boots Russian diplomats, it would mark the second punitive action against Moscow in as many weeks. The White House sanctioned 19 Russian nationals on March 15 for meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

That same day, the White House declared in a statement that it was “highly likely” that Moscow was responsible for the attack on Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer living in Britain, and his daughter Yulia.

Administration officials also suggested the sanctions for election meddling would not be the only response to alleged Kremlin activity against Western targets.

White House officials have reportedly been mulling a response to the Skripal incident that would mirror the one taken by British Prime Minister Theresa May, who ordered 23 undeclared Russian spies masquerading as diplomats to leave the U.K.

Trump is prepared to take similar action but wants to be sure European allies will follow suit before doing so, according to the Bloomberg report.

Despite having confronted Moscow with a wide range of economic and military responses, Trump remains under fire from critics who say he is too conciliatory to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The latest round of outrage flared up Wednesday, when Trump congratulated Putin on his recent win in the Russian presidential election before reading briefing notes reminding him not to do so.

Trump immediately dismissed the flurry of criticism, arguing that is important to have a working relationship with the Russian leader even as the diplomatic spat between Washington and Moscow worsens.

“They are wrong!” Trump wrote on Twitter Wednesday. “Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing.”

Trump’s much-scrutinized outreach to Putin stands in contrast to his administration’s increasingly hawkish approach to Russia policy.

Notably, Russia hawks now occupy many of the top seats on Trump’s foreign policy team, with Mike Pompeo taking over at the State Department, John Bolton set to become a national security adviser, and Nikki Haley representing Washington in the United Nations.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert spoke on Friday night about Russia in much tougher terms than Trump.

“The United States is considering a range of options to respond to Russia’s outrageous actions in the U.K., both to demonstrate our solidarity with our ally and to hold Russia accountable for its clear breach of international norms and agreements,” she said.

Moscow has denied any involvement in Skripal’s poisoning. The Kremlin announced last week it would respond in kind to Britain’s expulsion of Russian personnel by declaring 23 British diplomats “persona non grata” and closing the British consulate in St. Petersburg.

A version of this story previously appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.

What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.
A friend of poisoned exiled Russian spy Sergei Skripal claims Skripal had written to Vladimir Putin asking to return to Russia. Russia denies receiving such a letter.