New Zealand supports the joint statement made by the leaders of the UK, US, Germany and France on the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
"This incident is a serious affront to accepted global rules and norms," she said.
"The use of chemical weapons in any circumstances is totally repugnant, and New Zealand is deeply disturbed at any use of chemical substances banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention," she said.
The US, France and Germany joined Britain today in condemning Russia for the nerve-agent poisoning of a former spy, calling it an "assault on UK sovereignty," as the Kremlin vowed to expel British diplomats soon in response to London's moves against Moscow, the Associated Press reported.
Britain says blame for the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury lies with the Russian state.
Prime Minister Theresa May responded by expelling 23 Russian diplomats, severing high-level contacts with Moscow and vowing to take both open and covert actions against Russian dirty money and "hostile state activity."
In a rare joint statement, Mrs May and US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "there is no plausible alternative explanation" to Russian responsibility for the poisoning.
In the supporting statement Ms Ardern said New Zealand fully supported the sovereign right of the UK to take the action it considered appropriate in response to a violation of international law on its territory.
"We stand in solidarity with the UK alongside its other partners."
She said outrage at the brazen and callous use of chemical weapons in a UK town was fully justified.
"Despite the further details that have emerged since the NZ government statement earlier this week, and despite the international outcry, the Russian reaction has been cynical, sarcastic and inadequate," said Ms Ardern.
"There is no plausible alternative explanation hitherto, that this came from anywhere other than Russia, and no doubt whatsoever that Russia has serious questions to answer."
Earlier New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the issue had "somewhat complicated" potential free-trade talks with Russia, but that New Zealand shouldn't have to choose between Russia and Europe.
Russia denies being the source of the nerve agent that poisoned the Skripals and has demanded Britain share samples collected by investigators. Britain says the poison used was Novichok, a class of nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union toward the end of the Cold War.
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