PM trilateral with President Macron and Chancellor Merkel: 22 March 2018
The Prime Minister met with President Macron of France and Chancellor Merkel of Germany in Brussels.
A Number 10 spokesman said:
Prime Minister Theresa May today met with President Macron and Chancellor Merkel on the fringes of the European Council in Brussels.
The Prime Minister provided the President and Chancellor with a detailed update on the investigation into the reckless use of a military nerve agent, of a type produced by Russia, on the streets of Salisbury.
She said there had been a positive identification of the chemical used as part of the Novichok group of nerve agents by our world leading scientists at Porton Down.
The Prime Minister also outlined our knowledge that Russia has previously produced this agent; Russia’s record of conducting state-sponsored assassinations; and our assessment that Russia views some defectors as legitimate targets for assassinations.
The UK, Germany and France reaffirmed that there is no plausible explanation other than that the Russian state was responsible.
The leaders agreed on the importance of sending a strong European message in response to Russia’s actions and agreed to remain in close contact in coming days.
On Iran, they reaffirmed their commitment to the JCPOA and agreed to hold further discussions in April.