Europe steps up pressure on Russia over spy attack

BRUSSELS: European countries are set to take further steps as early as Monday to punish Russia over the poisoning of a former spy in England, officials said, as diplomatic pressure builds on Moscow over the nerve agent attack.

Russia, for its part, accused London of trying to force its European allies to take "confrontational steps" and unleashing an "anti-Russian campaign".

EU leaders meeting in Brussels have agreed to recall the bloc’s ambassador from Moscow over the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday the poisoning with the Soviet-made "Novichok" agent was an "attack on European sovereignty", after EU leaders unanimously backed London’s assessment that it was "highly likely" Moscow was to blame and that there was no plausible alternative explanation.