Trump to huddle with May about poisoned spy
Trump says he is speaking with British Prime Minister Theresa May today and suggests he agrees with her assessment that Russia was "highly likely" responsible for the attempted murder of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter https://t.co/iU4NZdXOoD
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 13, 2018
President Trump says he will wait to make a determination about who is behind the poisoning of a Russian double agent in Britain until he speaks with British Prime Minister Theresa May.
The president said he has a call planned with May at some point on Tuesday.
May told the U.K. parliament that it was “highly likely” that Russia was responsible for an attack that left Sergei Skripal and his daughter critically ill. The White House has so far declined to point the finger at Moscow.
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“It sounds to me like it would be Russia based on all of the evidence they have,” Trump said. “I don’t know if they’ve come to a conclusion, but she’s calling me today … it sounds to me like they believe it was Russia, and I would certainly take that finding as fact.”
Skripal is a one-time Russian intelligence officer who has been working for Britain.
He and his daughter appear to have been poisoned in public with a nerve agent outside of London. British intelligence described the poison as “military grade” and “of a type developed in Russia.”
But White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was more cautious from the podium on Monday, calling the attack “an outrage,” “reckless” and “indiscriminate” but declining to say whether Russia was behind it.
Later Monday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he had “full confidence in the U.K.’s investigation and its assessment that Russia was likely responsible.” Trump removed Tillerson from State on Tuesday.
“As soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them, we will condemn Russia or whoever it may be,” Trump said. “I have not spoken to her. I’ll speak to her sometime today.”
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