Hunt To Call Russian Diplomats Expulsion Over Skripal Case Demonstration Of UK-French Ties

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Hunt to Call Russian Diplomats Expulsion Over Skripal Case Demonstration of UK-French Ties

LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th November, 2018) UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will underscore UK-French post-Brexit ties by noting close cooperation between the countries which has recently manifested itself, among other situations, when both Paris and London expelled Russian diplomats in the wake of the poisoning incident in the UK city of Salisbury, according to a transcript of Hunt's speech scheduled for Thursday.

"We will never forget the moment after the Manchester attack when President Macron walked from the Elysee Palace to the British embassy to express France's solidarity, and the crowd at the Stade de France sang the British national anthem - nor, when, after the Bataclan attack the crowd at Wembley sang the Marseillaise ... That is why, after the chemical weapons attack in Salisbury in March, France rallied to the UK's side, leading a strong and united European response, working together to expel scores of Russian diplomats from our continent," Hunt is expected to say during his visit to Paris, as cited by The Guardian newspaper.

The foreign secretary's trip will be timed to the centenary of World War I Armistice which will be celebrated on Sunday. Hunt will give his speech in French.

The commemorations coincide with the final stages of talks between the United Kingdom and the European Union on the agreement on the UK withdrawal from the bloc, scheduled for late March 2019.

The Salisbury poisoning incident took place on March 4, when Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with what London claimed was a military-grade nerve agent. The United Kingdom accused Russia of organizing the attack while Moscow said London had not provided any proof of its involvement in the poisoning.

The incident provoked an international scandal with scores of Russian diplomats expelled from a number of EU states. Moscow responded by expelling UK diplomats from Russia.

Moscow has said that it sent dozens of requests to London asking that it be granted access to the investigation into the poisoning incident. Moscow has also offered to work together with London and carry out a joint investigation. London did not respond to these proposals, instead claiming that Russia rejected its calls for cooperation.

Moreover, the UK Porton Down laboratory has said it was unable to confirm that the substance used in the Salisbury attack was produced in Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the Salisbury poisoning case was falling apart due to the lack of proof of Russia's involvement in the attack on the Skripals.