Russian Envoy Warns UK Against Pushing For Tougher EU Sanctions Over Spy Poisoning

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) Russia's envoy to the European Union said Wednesday that London should come to terms with the fact that EU nations are against ramping up sanctions on Russia over the spy poisoning scandal.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to bring up the March poisoning in Salisbury at a dinner with EU leaders at an informal summit in Salzburg, Austria. She said earlier she wanted member states to put more pressure on Moscow.

"I think that, as artificial as this story may seem, they must understand that the EU does not feel like strengthening sanctions," Russia's Vladimir Chizhov told Sputnik in Brussels.

European Council President Donald Tusk said May was going to address the leaders on the topic, without mentioning the word "sanctions," according to the Russian representative.

The British prime minister blamed Russia for a nerve agent attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, ordering the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats. Sixteen other EU nations followed suit.