Russian Embassy Boasts Of Trump’s Reported Dismissal Of Moscow Role In UK Poisoning
The Russian Embassy in Britain gloated in a tweet Sunday that President Donald Trump reportedly disputed Moscow’s involvement in a nerve agent attack in England — despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary amassed by British intelligence.
The tweet boasted that Trump’s doubt about a plot to poison a former Russian spy and his daughter was the “best evidence that no evidence of Russian involvement exists.”
The embassy’s tweet linked to an article published Sunday in The Guardian reporting that Trump informed former British Prime Minister Theresa May in a tense phone call last year that he didn’t believe the Russian government was involved in the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Salisbury.
The newspaper cited a report in The Washington Post that Trump “harangued” May about Britain’s contribution to NATO — then disputed Russian involvement in the murder attempt.
Sergei Skripal, his daughter, Yulia, and at least one police officer were poisoned last year by the Soviet military-grade nerve agent Novichok. Known Russian agents were seen on security video in an area where British officials believe the attack was launched. They claimed they were on vacation.
The Skripals survived after weeks of hospitalization.
Scottish National party member Stephen Gethins, a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, told The Guardian that the evidence of Russian involvement in the poisoning “is overwhelming; It was an appalling chemical weapons attack that should horrify us all.”
Information about Trump’s call with May included in a Post story on Friday recounting a string of stunning or embarrassing Trump interactions with foreign leaders that left some staffers “horrified.”
The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said staffers were shocked by how Trump fawned over Russian President Vladimir Putin. He told the Russian leader ― responsible for what American authorities have called sweeping interference in the 2016 U.S presidential election, a great leader, and apologized for not calling earlier.
REAL LIFE. REAL NEWS. REAL VOICES.
Help us tell more of the stories that matter from voices that too often remain unheard.