Theresa May outlines action against Russia over spy poison case
The UK's deadline for Moscow to explain how a Russian nerve agent was used on British soil has expired.
"Moscow will not respond to London’s ultimatum until it receives samples of the chemical substance to which the UK investigators are referring."
Russian Embassy
London
Prime Minister Theresa May is reportedly getting ready to retaliate and is due to make a statement in Parliament. She set the Tuesday midnight ultimatum saying it was "highly likely" Russia was behind the attack.
A government source says Russia's ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office, Reuters reports.
Britain has called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to update members on the investigation, the Foreign Office said on Wednesday. It has posted a video on Twitter listing cases of alleged Russian aggression over the past decade.
Meanwhile forensic teams continue to collect evidence in Salisbury, the site of last week's attack on former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
Russia denies charge
Russia's foreign minister has said no progress has been made towards resolving a standoff with London.
Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Russia would be ready to provide Britain with a response within 10 days if London submitted an official request, in line with the Chemical Weapons Convention.
"Instead of submitting such a request, Britain has continued to stage a political performance," he said, rejecting British claims that only Russia had a motive to target Skripal.
In a series of earlier tweets, Russia's UK embassy rubbished the charge and said it would not cooperate unless the UK provided a sample of the toxin.
It also vowed to retaliate against any punitive measures.
International support
May will announce the measures the UK plans to take in Parliament on Wednesday and, in the meantime, has been the gathering the support of international allies.
After a phone call with May, President Trump said " the US was with the UK all the way."
Possible UK actions could include expelling Russian diplomats and media outlets, freezing financial assets, visa bans and boycotting the Russia-hosted World Cup.
SOURCE: euronews
---DECRYPTED---