May’s cold front! PM battles the sniffles at the G20 as piles pressure on Putin to ‘choose a different path’ a day after Russian leader to stop his ‘irresponsible’ meddling in the West
- The PM slapped down Moscow for the Salisbury attacks at the Osaka summit
- She dabbed at her nose during crunch talks with the Saudi Crown Prince today
- She also warned against escalation in the flare-ups between Iran and the US
Theresa May today fought back a cold to display a show of strength on the global stage by issuing a public slap down to President Putin over the Salisbury nerve agent attacks.
The prime minister warned the Russian government that it must choose a ‘different path’ in her showdown with world leaders at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
After wiping her nose on a day of crunch talks with Turkish President Recep Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, she went on to condemn the Kremlin strongman’s ‘irresponsible’ behaviour.
British Prime Minister Theresa May wipes her nose during the Leader’s Special event on Women’s Empowerment on the second day of the G20 summit in Osaka
The prime minister warned the Russian government that it must choose a ‘different path’ in her press conference
She claimed that in yesterday’s meeting with Russian premier Vladimir Putin she told the Kremlin strongman to stop meddling in the West
In a press conference from the summit, she said: ‘Yesterday I told President Putin that there can only be a normalisation of our bilateral relationship if Russia stops its pattern of irresponsible activity that threatens the UK and its allies such as the use of a deadly nerve agent on the streets of Salisbury.
‘We remain open to a different relationship but for that to happen the Russian government must choose a different path.’
But her veiled threats to cut ties with Moscow will be undermined by her imminent departure from Number 10 and as leadership contenders Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson jostle to replace her.
Mrs May also threw her weight behind continued support for the Iran nuclear deal – which Donald Trump pulled the United States from – and warned against further ‘escalation’ in the Gulf.
Today at the summit she had crunch talks with world leaders such as Turkish President Recep Erdoğan
Theresa May holds talks with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who has come under fire for his alleged involvement in the death of a journalist
It comes amid a series of flare-ups between Washington and Tehran which saw Iran shoot down a US drone and the White House doubling down on sanctions.
The prime minister also urged more action to be taken to prevent live streaming of terrorists’ broadcasts online.
And she praised the young climate activists who have been protesting on the streets of the UK over the past few months.
At the summit: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Donald Tusk, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Argentina President Mauricio Macri and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker