Vice President Mike Pence backed UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's call for global solidarity in imposing sanctions on Russia in response to a chemical attack in the United Kingdom, the White House said in a readout of a meeting between the two leaders on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st August, 2018) Vice President Mike Pence backed UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's call for global solidarity in imposing sanctions on Russia in response to a chemical attack in the United Kingdom, the White House said in a readout of a meeting between the two leaders on Tuesday.
"Vice President Mike Pence met today with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt of the United Kingdom," the readout said. "The Vice President expressed support for the United Kingdoms call for European solidarity regarding sanctions related to the use of chemical weapons and both agreed on the importance of upholding international norms against the use of chemical weapons."
Earlier on Tuesday at an event for the US Institute for Peace, Hunt called on the European Union to ensure its sanctions against Russia were "comprehensive" and to "stand shoulder to shoulder with the US."
The readout said Pence and Hunt also discussed plans for a US-UK trade agreement once Britain leaves the EU.
On March 4, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench at a shopping center in Salisbury. The United Kingdom and its allies have accused Moscow of having orchestrated the attack with what UK experts claim was the A234 nerve agent, without presenting any proof. Russian authorities have strongly refuted the allegations as groundless.
