Vladimir Putin has defied Mrs May’s ultimatum on nerve agent

Russia has issued a clear warning to Britain not to issue threats and “groundless ultimatums.”

Moscow’s embassy repeated the warning that any “punitive” action “will meet with a response.” It described the ultimatum as a clear provocation.



Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, initially called for Britain to make available more information about the attack.

However, the reaction from Moscow became more belligerent when Britain rejected Russia’s demand that it be given a sample of the military-grade chemical weapon to conduct a joint investigation.