British Prime Minister Theresa May tried to rally European Union leaders into a unified stance Thursday against Russia, saying the poisoning of a former spy on English soil shows that Moscow poses a long-term threat to the West. But as Russia denied responsibility and slammed Britain's investigation into the nerve-agent attack, some European leaders urged caution while the investigation continues.

Russia has fiercely denied allegations it poisoned Skripal – a former Russian intelligence officer convicted of spying for the United Kingdom – and his daughter.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, whose former Soviet state shares a border with Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, offered her full backing to Britain and said she was weighing whether to expel Russian diplomats from her country over the Salisbury attack.

British officials are irked that another EU chief, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, congratulated Putin on his victory in Sunday's presidential election in Russia.

...