Australia expels Russian diplomats in international push over nerve agent attack

THE Russian embassy has blasted the PM’s decision to expel two diplomats from Canberra, saying he is “blindly” following Britain’s lead.

RUSSIA’S embassy in Australia has blasted the Turnbull Government’s decision to expel two Russian diplomats, saying it is “blindly” following Britain’s lead against common sense.

It comes after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull slammed the “aggressive”, “reckless” behaviour of Vladimir Putin’s government while declaring the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia as an “attack on all of us”.

The move is part of a mass international push by 23 countries to condemn Moscow for its involvement in the nerve agent attack in the English city of Salisbury earlier this month.

Prime Minister Turnbull revealed today that the two diplomats had been identified as “undeclared intelligence officers”.

MORE: Donald Trump expels 60 Russian spies

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop announce Australia will expel two Russian diplomats over the nerve agent attack. Picture: AAP

He said the diplomats would be expelled by the Australian Government for “actions inconsistent with their status” in line with the Vienna Conventions.

The Russian embassy released a statement this afternoon saying the “relatively small but substantial” positive asset in Russia’s relationship with Australia was “jeopardised” by virtue of “the notorious Anglo-Saxon and Euro-Atlantic solidarity”.

“It is astonishing how easily the allies of Great Britain follow it blindly contrary to the norms of civilized bilateral dialogue and international relations, and against the common sense,” the statement said.

Pictured is the Russian Embassy in Canberra.

“The modern world is not in a stage when it is possible to dictate anything to anybody, regardless of the nostalgia for past grandeur in certain capitals.”

The statement said neither the Russia nor other states possessed “impartial exhaustive information” about the Skripal case.

It said a denial of an “unbiased inquiry” to investigate the circumstances of the case indicated Britain longed for a foregone conclusion.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia may never recover from the attack.

“It is categorically unacceptable to expose Russia as a threat to international peace as well as to attribute some kind of ‘recklessness and irresponsibility’ to our foreign policy in a groundless and unsubstantiated way,” it said.

“Nowadays it is more than ever important to provide the rule of international law with a maximum use of mechanisms in the area of disarmament that have been elaborated over decades and have proved to be successful.

“Unfortunately, all that we can see today is a step in the exact opposite direction.

“Such flagrant and primitive campaigns as the ‘Skripal case’ that are crudely orchestrated by London, could only trigger further erosion of international relations architecture on which peace and security in the whole world during the post-war period were rested. “

The Russian ambassador will hold a briefing on developments at 10am AEDT tomorrow.

A Russian staff member chats on the phone inside the secured grounds at the embassy in Canberra today.

With the expulsion of the diplomats, Mr Turnbull sent a strong message directly to President Putin that the “brazen”, “criminal” attack would not be tolerated by the global community.

He declared the “shocking” crime was part of a pattern of “recklessness and aggression” by the Russian government that included the downing of flight MH17, cyber attacks, efforts to affect western nations’ elections, the annexation of Crimea and the invasion of eastern Ukraine.

“This latest incident demanded a response and it has seen a concerted international response from the UK’s allies and partners around the world,” Mr Turnbull told reporters in Canberra.

“To do nothing would only encourage further efforts to undermine the international rules-based order upon which our security and our prosperity rely.”

He stressed that Australia had no dispute with the Russian people.

“This is about the actions of the Russian Government. And it’s about our national security interests which we will always defend,” he said.

“We cannot and will not stand by and watch when the sovereignty of our allies and partners is threatened.”

A man smoking a cigarette inside the grounds of the embassy this morning.

Meanwhile, the British High Commissioner to Australia Menna Rawlings has thanked Australia for its “unwavering support”.

“The use of a nerve agent on British soil demands concerted diplomatic action,” she said.

“We are grateful to have Australia and other countries with us.”

The High Commissioner echoed Mr Turnbull’s remarks that it was not just an attack on the UK.

“What happened in the UK could happen in any country,” she said.

“It was an attack not just on the UK but on international security and the rules based order.”

“It is part of a pattern of reckless Russian behaviour from cyber-attacks to flouting international law in Ukraine.

British military personnel wearing protective coveralls work to remove a vehicle connected to the March 4 nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

“That is why we welcome this strong action from Australia and are resolved to continue working with our allies and partners to confront such actions wherever they threaten our security, at home and abroad.”

Overnight, the United States kicked out 60 Russian diplomats, declaring they were “spies”.

Diplomats are also being expelled from 16 European nations, Canada, Ukraine, Norway and Albania.

Two of Russia’s 13 diplomats in Australia will be given seven days to leave the country.

“This decision reflects the shocking nature of the attack — the first offensive use of chemical weapons in Europe since World War II, involving a highly lethal substance in a populated area, endangering countless other members of the community,” Mr Turnbull said in a joint statement with Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop earlier this morning.

British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks with an officer as she visits Salisbury after the attack.

He said the attack was part of a pattern of “reckless and deliberate conduct by the Russian state” that constituted a “growing threat to international security”.

It also threatened global non-proliferation rules against the use of chemical weapons, the rights of other sovereign nations and “the international rules-based order that underpins them”.

Mr Turnbull said he expected Russia would retaliate by expelling the same number of Australian diplomats, along with diplomats from the 23 other countries who were part of the joint action overnight.

He declined to comment on how long his government had been aware there were “undeclared intelligence officials” on Australian soil.

Ms Bishop did not rule out further action, including boycotting the soccer World Cup in Russia later this year.

Tony Abbott today praised the Australian Government’s strong response to the nerve agent attack, saying it was “abhorrent” that Putin’s “death squads” could stalk people on the streets of Britain.

Australia’s decision was made after advice from the UK Government that the substance used on March 4 was a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia.

“Such an attack cannot be tolerated by any sovereign nation,” Mr Turnbull said.

“We strongly support the call on Russia to disclose the full extent of its chemical weapons program in accordance with international law.”

Donald Trump shocked the world when he announced he would be expelling Russian ‘spies’ from the US. Pictures: AFP

Mr Turnbull said Australia would “vigorously back” the UK’s call for a full investigation of the nerve agent attack in the same way it had placed sanctions against Russia for its threat to Ukraine’s sovereignty, had called for justice over the downing of MH17 and had called out “unacceptable Russian action in cyberspace”.

“Australia remains committed to acting with its allies and partners to deter Russia’s actions where they are a threat to international security,” Mr Turnbull said.

“This is why the Government is overhauling offences for espionage, secrecy and treason, and for the first time establishing powerful new foreign interference offences in legislation currently before the Parliament.”

Russia has 13 diplomats in Canberra, including Ambassador Grigory Logvinov.

It is not known which diplomats will face deportation.

The UK has already expelled 23 Russian diplomats over the poisoning of the former Russian spy in early March.

Moscow then retaliated by sending back 23 British diplomats.
Prime Minister Turnbull has backed British Prime Minister Theresa May since she expelled Russian diplomats from the UK on March 15.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop. Picture: Kym Smith

“Australia stands with the UK in solidarity and supports, in the strongest terms, Prime Minister May’s response to this heinous attack, the first use of chemical weapons in Europe since World War Two,” Mr Turnbull said in a joint statement with Ms Bishop at the time.

“We share the UK’s outrage over this targeted attempt to commit murder using chemical weapons,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a sign of Moscow’s growing boldness, two Russian Su-35s fighter jets landed on a Pacific island claimed by both Russia and Japan for the first time on Monday.

The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the jets had landed on the island known as Iturup by the Russians and Etorofu by the Japanese on Monday.

It said the jets landed as part of a 2000km training flight from Khabarovsk Territory in Russia’s Far East and were intended to improve pilots’ skills in protecting air borders.

Originally published as Australia expels Russian diplomats in international push over nerve agent attack