BRUSSELS: The leaders of several EU countries said they are mulling whether to expel Russian diplomats or take other steps to support Britain following a nerve agent attack on a former spy.
European Union leaders returned to summit talks on Friday after uniting behind British Prime Minister Theresa May in blaming Russia for the attack in England, and agreeing to recall the bloc’s ambassador to Moscow for consultations.
Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats they said were spies, and has been pressing EU allies to follow suit despite Moscow’s warning against confrontational steps.
The leaders of former communist member states the Czech Republic and Lithuania as well as Denmark and Ireland said they were considering further unilateral steps, including expelling diplomats.
“I think national measures will be applied already starting from next week... from a lot of countries,” Lithuania’s outspoken President Dalia Grybauskaite said before joining the second and last day of the summit in Brussels.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis told the CTK news agency that Prague may expel several Russian diplomats over the poisoining of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
“Yes, we will probably move in this direction,” Babis said, adding he will discuss expulsions with his cabinet members on Monday.
Ireland’s Prime Minisster Leo Varadkar said his government would decide early next week whether to expel diplomats following a security assessment.
“We are not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats,” Varadkar told reporters.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said his government heard the “strong signal” from the bloc’s leaders who agreed with Britain’s assessment that Russia was to blame for the attack.
He said he would hold consultations with members of his government.
“My government will then in the next coming days very seriously consider to take further steps,” Rasmussen said.
A French presidency source said Thursday that Paris was also ready to act.
The poisoning has heightened worries across Europe about Russian meddling — from repeated cyberattacks to what the EU has called an “orchestrated strategy” of disinformation aimed at destabilising the bloc.
During a visit to Hanoi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that British officials “are feverishly trying to force allies to take confrontational steps.”
Lavrov, quoted by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, said London was trying to make the “crisis as deep as possible.”
EU nations mull expelling Russian diplomats after spy attack
EU nations mull expelling Russian diplomats after spy attack
World Bank allocates $50m for transportation projects in Syria
RIYADH: The World Bank has allocated $50 million to support vital transportation projects in Syria as the two sides discuss ways to enhance cooperation in the fields of railway and sustainable transport.
The development comes after Syria’s Transport Minister Yarub Badr met World Bank Regional Director for the Middle East Jean-Christophe Carret at the ministry’s headquarters in Damascus to discuss ways to support and develop the country’s transport sector.
Talks focused on improving the skills of workers in the field, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Funding will be secured for the purchase of 15 new locomotives, in conjunction with a study on maintaining existing locomotives to improve operational efficiency.
The move comes as the World Bank estimates Syria’s reconstruction costs at $216 billion following more than 13 years of conflict, according to its Syria Physical Damage and Reconstruction Assessment 2011–2024 report released in October.
The war impacted almost one-third of Syria’s total assets, with direct damage to infrastructure, homes, and other buildings estimated at around $108 billion.
The newly released statement said: “They also reviewed the phosphate transport corridor project and the importance of reassessing its economic feasibility to determine the necessary financial estimates and clarify the related figures to ensure its sustainability and effective development.”
It added: “Badr stressed the importance of continued cooperation with the World Bank in implementing infrastructure-related projects, noting that such cooperation contributes to accelerating Syria’s economic recovery.”
The statement further highlighted that Carret affirmed the World Bank’s willingness to back development initiatives and stressed the importance of building a long-term, sustainable partnership with Syria.
At the conclusion of the meeting, both parties agreed to convene a technical session next week to follow up on the key points discussed and fast-track cooperation between Syria and the World Bank in the relevant areas.
The discussions build on talks held last week via video conference between Badr and World Bank transport officials, which focused on the readiness of the railway network and the phosphate railway corridor project, including its economic and strategic significance.
