EU to back May on Russia with words, but limited action

By Tuomas Forsell and Alastair Macdonald HELSINKI/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has a week to rally wary European Union leaders behind punitive measures against Moscow over the poisoning of a Russian former spy but will struggle to secure major EU action at an EU summit next Thursday. Despite talk of "full solidarity" with London after a "brutal attack inspired most likely by Moscow" from summit chair Donald Tusk and others in Brussels, there is profound caution in Paris and Berlin, where the bloc's powerbrokers know European divisions run deep over how to handle President Vladimir Putin. The French government questioned May's evidence for pinning the Salisbury attack with Soviet nerve agent on Moscow and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of a need to keep talking to a Russian president set to be re-elected easily on Sunday.