Theresa May has said Brexit is not a ‘rejection of multilateralism’ and attacked Russia for its ‘desperate fabrication’ over the Salisbury spy poisoning at a meeting of world leaders in New York.
In speeches to the UN’s Security Council and its General Assembly on Wednesday, the Prime Minister warned of the dangers of the international community failing to cooperate.
Mrs May also maintained that the Brexit vote to leave the European Union was not a rejection of multilateralism, but a demand for accountability.
‘The vote by the British people to leave the EU was not a rejection of multilateralism or international cooperation,’ she said.
‘It was a clear demand for decisions and accountability to lie closer to home.
‘I believe the role of leadership in these circumstances is clear: it is delivering on the democratic wishes of our people and international cooperation working with allies and partners in pursuit of our shared values.’
Mrs May used her two key speeches at the United Nations on Wednesday to turn her fire on Moscow.
Theresa May said Brexit is not a ‘rejection of multilateralism or international cooperation’ at a meeting of world leaders in New York on Wednesday
Britain has set out detailed evidence about the prime suspects in the Novichok attack while Russia has only sought to ‘obfuscate through desperate facbrication’, she said.
She told the United Nations Security Council: ‘We have taken appropriate action, with our allies, and we will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure our collective security.
‘Russia has only sought to obfuscate through desperate fabrication.’
In her address to world leaders later, she said Russia is ‘blatantly’ violating a range of international norms, from seizing territory to using a chemical weapon to poison an ex-Russian spy in England.
Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were seriously ill – and a British woman was later killed – after the attack in March.
‘When Russia used a toxic nerve agent in a sickening attack on the streets of Salisbury, the UK with our NATO, EU and other allies took action, expelling over 150 Russian intelligence officers: the largest collective expulsion ever,’ she said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted there is ‘nothing criminal’ about the two men.
It comes amid reports that one of the suspects in the Salisbury poisoning, Ruslan Boshirov, has been identified as Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga, a highly decorated officer in the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service.
Mrs May used two key speeches at the United Nations on Wednesday to turn her fire on Moscow
In her address to the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, Mrs May said Russia is ‘blatantly’ violating a range of international norms
Boshirov was identified alongside Alexander Petrov by the UK as GRU members but the two men made widely mocked claims that they only visited the Wiltshire city in early March to see the ‘wonderful town’ of Salisbury and its famous cathedral.
Mrs May called on Russia to rejoin the international consensus against the use of chemical weapons but said there should be no doubt about the international community’s determination to take action if that did not happen.
She said: ‘We have taken appropriate action, with our allies, and we will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure our collective security. Russia has only sought to obfuscate through desperate fabrication.’
She said: ‘We cannot let the framework be undermined today by those who reject the values and disregard the rules that have kept us safe.
‘It will take collective engagement to reinforce it in the face of today’s challenges. And in this, as has always been the case, the UK will play a leading role.’
Mrs May also championed international cooperation,a day after President Donald Trump attacked globalisation and said countries should act in their own interests.
Mrs May also championed international cooperation,a day after President Donald Trump attacked globalisation and said countries should act in their own interests
She called on them to reject nationalism and fight to preserve the multilateral system, challenging Trump’s anti-globalism stance.
Mrs May used her address to warn that ‘aggressive nationalism’ could replace the rules-based international order unless leaders revived public confidence in the current system.
She urged international leaders to step up and act when international norms, such as over the use of chemical weapons, are broken.
Failure to act could fuel a rise in fascism and communism, she warned.
‘Be in no doubt, if we lack the confidence to step up, others will,’ Mrs May said.
‘In the last century – whether in the rise of fascism or the spread of communism – we have seen those on the extreme right and extreme left exploit people’s fears, stoke intolerance and racism, close down economies and societies and destroy the peace of nations.
Prime Minister Theresa May took a swipe at Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal at a meeting of the UN security council
The PM praised the US president for the ‘leadership’ he had shown over North Korea by meeting dictator Kim Jong-un for talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme
‘And today once more we see worrying trends in the rise of these movements in Europe and beyond.’
She added: ‘We have seen what happens when the natural patriotism which is a cornerstone of a healthy society is warped into aggressive nationalism, exploiting fear and uncertainty to promote identity politics at home and belligerent confrontation abroad, while breaking rules and undermining institutions.
‘And we see this when states like Russia flagrantly breach international norms – from the seizing of sovereign territory to the reckless use of chemical weapons on the streets of Britain by agents of the Russian GRU.
‘We have to show there is a better way to meet the concerns of our people.’
Mrs May said international intervention was ‘not just a moral imperative’ but a ‘matter of self-interest’.
‘For when barbarous acts and aggression go unchecked, dictators and terrorists are emboldened. So, we must have the confidence to act.’
Mrs May also indicated that Britain would bomb Syria again if chemical weapons were used against its people.
She said: ‘When the Syrian Regime used chemical weapons on its people again in April, it was Britain together with France and America who took military action to degrade the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons capability and deter their use.
‘We must do more collectively to prevent such atrocities in the first place, and address the causes of instability that can give rise to them,’ she said.
Addressing world leaders in New York, Mrs May said the internationally brokered deal with Iran remains the best way to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons
She also insisted that ‘open economies and inclusive societies’ can best deliver security and prosperity for all.
She added: ‘Only global cooperation based on a set of agreed rules can ensure competition is fair and does not succumb to protectionism, with its certain path to lost jobs and international confrontation,’ Mrs May said.
‘And it is only global co-operation which can harness legitimate self-interest towards common goals, producing agreements on global challenges such as climate change, proliferation and increasing inclusive economic growth.’
She concluded: ‘We must learn the lessons of the past and show through our actions how cooperation between strong and accountable states with open economies and inclusive societies can best deliver security and prosperity for all our people.’
Donald Trump (right) went against the advice of his European allies and pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal earlier this year
Downing Street insisted the comments were not an attack on Trump and had been written before he made his remarks. Nevertheless, her response zeroed in on Trump’s comments.
On Tuesday, Trump used his annual address to the UN to lay down a defiant message that he will reject globalism and protect American interests.
‘America is governed by Americans. We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism,’ he said.
The two were due to hold bilateral talks before Mrs May flies back to London.
Mrs May also expressed her support for a free and fair media in her address – another position which puts her at odds with Trump.
‘Like many leaders, I suspect, I do not always enjoy reading what the media in my country writes about me,’ she said.
‘But I will defend their right to say it for the independence of our media is one of my country’s greatest achievements, and it is the bedrock of our democracy.’
On Tuesday, Trump used his annual address to the UN to lay down a defiant message that he will reject globalism and protect American interests
Trump has frequently criticised journalists, dubbed them ‘the enemy of the people’ and described news reports that contradict his opinion or policy positions as fake news.
Earlier, she criticised Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.
The PM praised the US president, who was chairing the meeting of the UN security council, for the ‘leadership’ he had shown over North Korea by meeting dictator Kim Jong-un for talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
Addressing world leaders in New York on Wednesday, she said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) had taken collective leadership.
And she insisted an internationally brokered deal with Iran remains the best way to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons – despite Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 accord.
Mrs May said the UK remains committed to preserving the agreement as long as Iran continues to hold up its end of the deal.
She said: ‘For many years, the scale and nature of Iran’s nuclear programme raised serious international concerns. The JCPOA was an important step forward in addressing these.
‘It remains the best means of preventing Iran developing a nuclear weapon, and we are committed to preserving the JCPOA as long as Iran continues to abide by its obligations in full.
‘Iran must ensure they implement their obligations fully. And to monitor Iran’s compliance, we strongly support the IAEA using inspections and other monitoring provisions of the JCPOA to their full.’