PM urges West to sanction Russian gold reserves as NATO warns of chemical weapons use
Prime minister Boris Johnson has urged the West to press sanctions on Russia’s gold reserves, as NATO warns that the Kremlin-controlled state may be trying to create a climate for chemical weapons use.
Johnson doubled down on his stance that the country had already “crossed a red line” during its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, again accusing Russian president Vladimir Putin of war crimes to broadcasters ahead of a NATO summit in Brussels today.
The comments prompted the Kremlin to describe Johnson as the “most active anti-Russian leader”, which spokesman Dmitry Peskov added would “lead to a foreign policy dead end”.
The Kremlin has also accused the West of preparing a chemical weapons attack, which NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said could be Russia’s way of making an excuse for its own use of chemical or biological warfare.
“We are concerned partly because we see the rhetoric and we see that Russia is trying to create some kind of pretext accusing Ukraine, the United States and NATO allies of preparing to use chemical and biological weapons,” he told reporters after the NATO summit.
“There is also a risk that it will have a direct effect on people living in NATO countries because we can see contamination, we can see the spread of chemical agents or biological weapons into our countries.”
At least 1,035 people have been killed, including 90 children, in the month-long conflic0t so far, according to the United Nations human rights office today.