British foreign secretary Boris Johnson said his government's "quarrel" was with Putin rather than the Russian people. (Getty Images)
British foreign secretary Boris Johnson said his government's "quarrel" was with Putin rather than the Russian people. (Getty Images)

Britain gains Europe's support for Russia spy poisoning showdown



Britain won important backing from the European Union in the stand-off with Russia over the poisoning of a Russian spy and his daughter with a suspected nerve agent in southern England.

One explanation for what has been called a "brazen attack" is the Kremlin was keen to test British relations with Europe as the country prepares to depart the Western bloc.

A meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels provided backing for Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's accusation that Russia targeted former agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury with a Soviet-designed military grade nerve agent.

The 28 ministers meeting in Brussels voiced their "unqualified solidarity" with Britain over the attack. "The European Union takes extremely seriously the UK government's assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible," the ministers said in a joint statement.

"The European Union expresses its unqualified solidarity with the UK and its support, including for the UK's efforts to bring those responsible for this crime to justice."

International chemical weapons experts are due to arrive in Britain on Monday to investigate the incident, which has triggered a fierce diplomatic row between London and Moscow.

Assuming the British finds are endorsed by the UN affiliated OPCW, it remains possible the EU could tighten sanctions on the Kremlin.

Britain, France, Germany and the United States issued a joint statement last week blaming Russia for the attack. Mr Johnson said Russia's denials were designed to stave off tough retaliatory measures from Western states.  "What people can see is that this is a classic Russian strategy of trying to conceal the needle of truth in a haystack of lies and obfuscation," he said.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the EU stood behind British claims.

"We have been informed in great detail in recent days by our colleagues in Britain. All the information we have suggests that there is no alternative plausible explanation to the Russian side bearing a share of the responsibility," Mr Maas said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Paris also believed Moscow was the source of the attack. "We share the British analysis," he said.

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom rejected Russian suggestions that her country might have stockpiles of Novichok, the nerve agent identified by British scientists.

"This is just ridiculous and totally unfounded. I think that they are trying to make some kind of diversion from the real issues here," she said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday dismissed the British accusations as "nonsense," but said that Moscow is ready to cooperate with London in the investigation.

In his first comments on the incident, Putin referred to the poisoning of the ex-Russian spy and his daughter as a "tragedy," but said that if the British claim that they were poisoned by the Soviet-designed nerve agent were true, the victims would have been killed instantly.

A senior Russian foreign policy adviser conceded that the Kremlin was anxious to avoid additional sanctions and predicted it would strike a more conciliatory tone now that the elections were out of the way.

"The most dangerous development for Russia would be a new cycle of EU sanctions," he said. "Now with elections behind him Mr Putin might be more willing to engage in some kind of dialogue with the United Kingdom."

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  • The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE

2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.

2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus

2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.

2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.

2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.

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Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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MATCH INFO

Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)

Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no

Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)

Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22

Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

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Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent   

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia