THE HINDU, 16th MARCH, 2018-Tensions between Russia and the West continued to ramp up as France, Germany, Britain and the U.S. jointly accused Russia of involvement in the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in early March, which they said involved the first “offensive use” of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War. “It is an assault on U.K. sovereignty and any such use by a state party is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law. It threatens the security of all of us,” they said in a joint statement on Thursday.

All four shared Britain’s assessment that it was “highly likely” that Russia was responsible for the attack, and condemned Russia’s failure to address the “legitimate” request by the U.K. government to explain whether and how a nerve agent developed under a Russian programme could have gotten into third party control. That’s the only alternative to the Russian state’s direct involvement, they said.