Ex-Spy Poisoning by Russia: Putin Is Saying, '
Post# of 51158
Putin Is Saying,
'What Are You Gonna Do About It?'
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John Bolton said Thursday that the chemical poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in England fits into the larger pattern of Russia and similar regimes making peaceful promises and then lying about them.
The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said that not only is the attack itself significant, but so is the fact that it is in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
"What does it take to get people to connect the dots?" Bolton asked Sandra Smith. "Russia, China, Syria, Iran, North Korea...these are regimes that make agreements and lie about them."
Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a bench in the English city of Salisbury on March 4 after being poisoned with a “very rare” nerve agent, Fox News reported.
In a meeting Wednesday at the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley condemned Russia over the attack.
"If we don't take immediate, concrete measures to address this now, Salisbury will not be the last place we see chemical weapons used," Haley said.
In a further response to the attack, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May expelled 23 Russian diplomats.
Bolton said the "blatant" attack in public reminds him of North Korea, "Moscow's friend," murdering Kim Jong Un's brother in the middle of an airport last year.
"It's an act of defiance. It's saying to London and the other western capitals, 'what are you gonna do about it?' Well, I think there should be a very strong answer to that," he said, arguing the time has come for real "deterrence" that Vladimir Putin will understand.
Smith also asked Bolton about the potential exit of White House National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster, of whom Bolton is rumored to potentially replace.
"It it my long-standing and very boring policy not to comment on personnel matters," Bolton replied. "And that's what I'm still doing."
Watch the interview above.