FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. on Thursday [3-15-18] joined the U.K., France and Germany to condemn the poisoning of a Russian double agent in Britain as ‘an assault on U.K. sovereignty,’ saying it constituted a breach of international law and calling on Russia to explain its role in the attack.
The show of unity by the four countries deepens the isolation of Moscow, which has responded defiantly to the U.K.’s accusations that it was culpable in the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter with Novichok, a nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union.
It comes as the Trump administration issued its first sanctions against Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. In the sanctions against five entities and 19 people, the U.S. Treasury also cited a cyberattack known as NotPetya and the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, England… The U.K., which is expelling 23 Russian diplomats over the attack, has pushed for backing from its allies, amid questions about whether the U.S. and others would deliver strong support… The allies shared the U.K.’s assessment that it was highly likely that Russia was behind the attack.”
-Wiktor Szary and Thomas Grove, “U.K. Allies Condemn Russia in United Statement,” The Wall Street Journal online, Mar. 15, 2018 10:12am