EU countries prepare to follow May and expel Russian diplomats

[moondust]

Source: The Guardian

Thu 22 Mar 2018 18.52 EDT

EU leaders have thrown their weight behind Theresa May’s stance on Russia, with several countries poised to announce expulsions of diplomats, in a bid to dismantle Vladimir Putin’s spy network.

Following a summit in Brussels to discuss the response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack, EU leaders gave their full-throated backing to the prime minister by adopting a statement declaring it was “highly likely Russia is responsible” for poisoning Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.

~more~

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/22/theresa-may-struggling-win-eu-support-russia-europe

[BigmanPigman]

1. Putin doesn't care at all.

He does whatever the Hell he wants and gets away with it. He has been doing this for 18 years. I hate his beady, evil eyes and that smirk...even more than I hate that Pharma Bro who ripped people off and was just sentenced to 7 years in jail.

[Berlin Expat]

2. Even though the Guardian article

doesn't mention it - because the news came overnight - Czech PM Andrej Babiš is also considering expulsion of Russian "diplomats" as well.

It was noted by Western intel agencies not long ago that the Czech Republic has, unfortunately, become a hub for Russian espionage activities here in Europe. To no one's surprise, the recently re-elected President, Miloš Zeman, is strongly pro-Russian. So if PM Babiš and the Foreign Ministry decide to expel some Russians, it'll likely cause Zeman to raise quite a stink - he won't like it one bit.

But I'm no fan of Zeman, personally, and what he thinks interests me not one iota.

[Hortensis]

3. 5 nations or ? about to expel? Developing story for sure.

The London Times says they may have 28 nations officially blaming Russia for the murder.

The Guardian: France, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are understood to be considering expelling Russian diplomats, as requested by the UK government, in a coordinated strike against Moscow.

The Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskaitė, said: “All of us, we are considering such measures.” She added that she had not congratulated Putin on his election victory.

On Thursday night the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, said the EU ambassador to Russia was being recalled to consult with Brussels over the Salisbury attack. Rutte said characterised this as a “measure” rather than a formal “sanction” against Moscow.

The last 3 Baltic states are of course former Soviet Union states which are being badly threatened by Putin's Russia. Russia took part of Poland also.