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LONDON/MOSCOW, March 16-- The spy poisoning row between Britain and Russia escalated after some major Western countries recently blamed Russia for a chemical attack on a former Russian spy, a charge Russia has denied. The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and the United States condemned the murder attempt in a joint statement on Thursday, saying "We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom, abhor the attack that took place against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, UK, on March 4, 2018." North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the same day expressed the Allies' support for Britain and called on Moscow to address London's questions about the incident. However, the Russian government has denied any involvement in the attack. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday in a press conference in Moscow that Russia was ready to cooperate with Britain in the investigation of the incident in accordance with international law. "Russia is innocent and Russia is ready to cooperate in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention if the United Kingdom condescends to honoring its international legal obligations related to the mentioned document," Lavrov said. British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday announced a series of measures against Russia over its failure to respond to demands by the British government to explain the poisoning incident. | 
