Europe should impose further sanctions on Russia in response to its "malign" behaviour around the world, Jeremy Hunt will say on his first visit to the US as foreign secretary this week.
He will call on the EU to replicate Washington's "comprehensive" response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack. The US is set to ban Russian exports of security-sensitive goods following the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal. Europe must engage with Russia but be "blunt" about its actions, he will say. In a speech in Washington, he will say Moscow must be aware that there is a "serious price" to be paid for repeated violations of the established rules of international conduct. He will cite "foreign attempts" to manipulate elections as one of the reasons behind the decline in confidence in Western democratic systems. But he will say governments in Europe must do more to "get their houses in order" by addressing the causes of economic and social resentment associated with the growth of populism, such as the squeeze on living standards and concerns over immigration.
During a three-day trip to the US, Mr Hunt - who succeeded Boris Johnson in July - will meet his counterpart, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as well as addressing the United Nations Security Council about the international fight against the Islamic State group and other Islamist terror groups. The visit comes as the US is set to ratchet up the pressure on Moscow over the poisoning of former Russian agent Mr Skripal and his daughter in the Wiltshire city in March. The US State Department is expected to confirm its intention to proceed with a ban on defence exports and certain government financial assistance in response to the attack, which it has blamed on Moscow. US officials are also expected to warn that further sanctions - including wider curbs on exports and US bank credit to the Russian government - could be imposed after three months without assurances that Russia is no longer using chemical and biological weapons and is complying with inspection and verification procedures. The UK said it is highly likely that the Russian government, which has denied all involvement, was to blame for the attacks - which prompted a wave of expulsions of Russian diplomats from the UK and across Europe. Mr Hunt will say the Salisbury attack was part of a pattern of behaviour from Russia, including the annexation of Crimea and its support for the Assad regime in Syria, which made the world "more dangerous". The US president, Donald Trump, was asked in an interview with Reuters whether he would consider lifting sanctions on Russia. "I'm not considering it at all, no," he said. "I would consider it if they do something that would be good for us. But I wouldn't consider it without that."