Russian leader rejects attack claims

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday rubbished claims that Russia poisoned a former spy in Britain, on the eve of international chemical weapons experts heading to the United Kingdom to probe the attack.

“It’s complete drivel, rubbish, nonsense that somebody in Russia would allow themselves to do such a thing ahead of elections and the World Cup,” Putin told supporters after winning a fourth term as president.

“We have destroyed all chemical weapons,” he added, rejecting Britain’s claim that only Moscow could be behind the nerve agent attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

In his first comments about the poisoning, the Russian leader said that Moscow was ready to cooperate with Britain in the investigation.

The poisoning in the English city of Salisbury on March 4 has led to a diplomatic crisis, with Britain expelling 23 Russian diplomats.

Technical experts from Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were scheduled to visit Britain on Monday to collect samples of the nerve agent used in the attack.

“These will then be despatched to highly-reputable international laboratories selected by the OPCW for testing with results expected to take a minimum of two weeks,” said a statement by Britain’s Foreign Office.

Putin said Russia is “ready to take part in the investigation”, although earlier on Sunday British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson accused the Russians of “smug sarcasm and denial” in response to the accusations.

Moscow’s “malign, disruptive behavior” internationally was the reason why allies were “inclined not to give Russia the benefit of the doubt”, he told BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

Pointing the finger

On Saturday, Russia’s ambassador to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, said Moscow “had nothing to do” with the attack, accusing Johnson of “acting in an inappropriate manner” by pointing the finger at Putin.

“Russia has stopped production of any chemical agents back in 1992,” he told Marr, the day after Moscow expelled 23 British diplomats in a tit-for-tat measure.

Chizhov also appeared to suggest that Britain itself may have been the source of the chemical agent.

“When you have a nerve agent, you check it against certain samples you have in your laboratories,” he said.

“And Porton Down, as we now all know, is the largest military facility in the UK that has been dealing with chemical weapons research — and it’s actually only eight miles from Salisbury.”

Johnson called the accusation “satirical”, adding it was “not the response of a country that really believes itself to be innocent”.