Putin provokes Western unity

In issuing a rare joint statement warning that the outrageous attack in Britain using the Russian military-grade nerve agent novichok “threatens the security of us all”, Donald Trump, Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Theresa May have sounded an alarm that demands an urgent global response. The leaders of the West’s four most powerful nations have pinned blame for one of the gravest crises since the Cold War squarely on Vladimir Putin’s thuggish regime, noting there is “no plausible alternative explanation”. It is imperative countries across the world join in action to punish him for what Malcolm Turnbull has grimly pointed out is the first use of chemical weapons in Europe since World War II.

The sight of hazmat-suited British army teams deployed on the streets of Salisbury, a quiet English city, to deal with a gross act of state-sponsored terrorism underlined the gravity of the attack. Amid the Kremlin’s rapidly escalating delinquency, allowing Mr Putin to get away with such an act would be unthinkable. This and previous outrages such as the illegal annexation of Crimea, the invasion of eastern Ukraine, the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and the propping up, with Iran, of the murderous Assad regime in Syria amount to a grim record.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, rightly, have been quick to pledge strong Australian support for whatever steps are to be taken. Their example needs to followed by all countries that value freedom, democracy and a rules-based world order. The Russian ruler’s murderous malevolence is a threat to all.

Mr Putin, as he heads to what undoubtedly will be a landslide victory in the Russian election, may smirk and smugly believe he can ride out the storm. But he will be foolish if he does not recognise profound significance in the fact even Mr Trump, who has tried to see only the best in the former KGB colonel, has lined up firmly against him. So have Mr Macron, who is about to lead a French trade mission to Russia, and Mrs Merkel, who is anxious about maintaining Russian gas supplies.

Not only has Mr Trump joined the outrage over the Russian chemical weapons attack, he also finally has imposed sanctions on Russia for its meddling in the 2016 US election. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has denounced “ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia”. The sanctions, and Mrs May’s mass expulsion of Russian spies from London, are a start. But it is imperative that more is done to hit Mr Putin and his corrupt oligarch cronies where it hurts most. Mrs May has hinted at seizing the financial assets and property of the large number of London-based Russian oligarchs connected to Mr Putin. She should get on with it.

As The Wall Street Journal has pointed out, Mr Putin’s power at the centre of the Russian kleptocracy depends on his ability to enrich his cronies. Until the West threatens his finances, Mr Putin is unlikely to be deterred from further acts of terror. But he should not underrate or misconstrue the intensity of global outrage over his chemical weapon attack and the gross violation of international law it represents. His action has presented the international community with a grave challenge that it has no alternative but to face. If Mr Putin gets away with it, the world will pay a heavy price.