Daughter speaks out
Poison spy dispute worsens
THE daughter of a former Russian spy poisoned by a nerve agent said yesterday in her first public comment that she was recovering even as the international furore over the attack intensified, with Russia warning Britain it was “playing with fire”.
At the United Nations, Russia claimed that intelligence services of other countries were probably behind the attack.
But Britain’s UN Ambassador Karen Piece shot back that Russia had come up with 24 theories on who bore responsibility for the poisoning, but the United Kingdom had only one — that it was highly likely Russia was responsible.
Yulia Skripal, 33, said in a statement released by British police that her “strength is growing daily” and she expressed gratitude to those who came to her aid when she and her father, Sergei, were found unconscious a month ago.
“I am sure you appreciate that the entire episode is somewhat disorientating, and I hope that you’ll respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my convalescence,” she said.
The hospital in the English city of Salisbury confirmed that Yulia’s health had improved, while her 66-year-old father, Sergei Skripal, remained in critical condition.
At the UN, the confrontation between Russia and Britain and more than two dozen Western allies who have expelled over 150 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity intensified.
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed that Russia was the victim of a hasty, sloppy and ill-intentioned defamation campaign by Britain and its allies.
Moscow assumed “with a high degree of probability” that the intelligence services of other countries were likely responsible for the incident, Mr Nebenzia said.
“We also, with a high degree of probability, are assuming that the intelligence services of certain countries are behind the mega-provocation.”