Montenegro Rallies Behind UK in Russia Poisoning Row

Montenegro on Wednesday offered support for the UK's diplomatic and economic measures against Russia, over claims that the Kremlin authorised use of deadly nerve gas on a Russian living in the city of Salisbury.

The government in Podgorica said it stood with the UK and "supports the efforts to defend its sovereignty and security of its citizens". The statement was promoted on Twitter with a hashtag #WeAreNATO.

Montenegro's statement echoed earlier comments by the US, NATO and EU top officials after the UK decided to expel 23 Russian diplomats and announced a range of punitive measures, after Moscow refused to explain how a Russian-made nerve agent was used on a former spy in the UK.

The BBC reported that former spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, 33, remain critically ill in hospital after being found slumped on a bench in Salisbury, in Wiltshire, on 4 March.

Skripkal was among a number of Russians exchanged in a deal with Moscow in 2010.

Moscow has denied responsibility for the attack but has not yet made clear how the Russia-sourced poison could have made its way to Britain.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said the chemical used in the attack had been identified as part of a group of nerve agents developed by Russia known as Novichok.

She said there was "no alternative conclusion" than to believe that the Russian state was "culpable" for the poisoning.

Political relations between Podgorica and Moscow have deteriorated in recent years due to Montenegro's decision to join NATO in last June, which the Kremlin strongly opposed.

An alleged Russian-backed plot to overthrow the Montenegrin government on election day last October, in which the Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement, has...