President Donald Trump suggested that he thinks Russia was involved in the attempted murder of an ex-spy, Sergei Skripal, in Britain and said that the U. S. will condemn Moscow if this is determined conclusively.
“It sounds to me like it would be Russia based on all the evidence they have,” Trump told reporters.
“It sounds to me like they believe it was Russia and I would certainly take that finding as fact,” he continued.
“As soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them, we will condemn Russia or whoever it may be.”
NAN reports that Russia has denied involvement in the poisoning of Skripal, and is ready cooperate with the UK on the issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
On Monday, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that it was “highly likely” that Russia was responsible for the suspected poisoning of Skripal.
May said that the substance used in the poisoning was identified as a Novichok class, military-grade nerve agent developed in Russia.
“We have already made a statement that this [Russia’s involvement] is rubbish … Russia is innocent, Russia is ready to cooperate in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention, if the UK … implements its international legal obligations under this document,” Lavrov told reporters.
In an ultimatum to Russia, May demanded an explanation for the poisoning by the end of Tuesday and threatened to apply harsh response measures.
The prime minister added that she would discuss the measures against Russia with parliament on Wednesday.
“If procedures envisioned by the convention are implemented, then I assure you Russia will respond to the relevant request in the time allotted to prepare a response,” he added. (dpa/NAN)