Russia ‘thought they would get away with’ Salisbury attack: Hunt

LONDON: Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has praised the robust response of the UK’s Nato allies to the Salisbury Novichok attack, suggesting it would make Russia think twice in future.

“I think in the quieter moments in the Kremlin they will think they probably paid too high a price for what they decided to do in Salisbury,” he told a cyber security summit.The Novichok attack, targeting a former Russian spy and his daughter in March last year, led to the expulsion of 153 Russian diplomats by Nato allies.

Addressing ambassadors from Nato member states at a cyber security conference in London, Hunt welcomed their strong reaction to the attack, which he said would have a deterrent effect.

He said: “It isn’t just about resilience, it’s also changing the calculations of your opponents as to whether they wish to do this in the first place. “I think Russia thought they would get away with it. The fact there was the largest expulsion of Russian diplomats/spies around the world will have done something to change their calculations in terms of what they choose to do in future.”