Nerve agent spy’s daughter rejects Russian offer of help
BRITAIN: The daughter of the former Russian spy who was poisoned in the Salisbury nerve agent attack has issued her longest statement yet to make it clear she does not want the help of the Russian embassy, nor her cousin.
Yulia Skripal, 33, said yesterday she had been made aware of her country’s offer of assistance but said that ‘‘at the moment I do not wish to avail myself of their services’’. She also said that if she were to change her mind, she would contact the embassy.
It comes after the embassy suggested yesterday that the secret resettlement of Skripal and her father, Sergei, upon his release from hospital would be seen as an ‘‘abduction’’.
Yulia Skripal issued her response through Scotland Yard, and also revealed that she is still suffering from the effects of the Novichok nerve agent used on her and her father nearly six weeks ago, which at one point left them both critically ill.
She also thanked the staff at Salisbury District Hospital, which she left on Tuesday, for their ‘‘obvious clinical expertise’’ and their ‘‘kindness’’. ‘‘I have left my father in their care, and he is still seriously ill. I too am still suffering with the effects of the nerve agent used against us. I find myself in a totally different life than the ordinary one I left just over a month ago, and I am seeking to come to terms with my prospects, while also recovering from this attack on me.
‘‘I have specially trained officers available to me, who are helping to take care of me and to explain the investigative processes that are being undertaken. I have access to friends and family, and I have been made aware of my specific contacts at the Russian embassy who have kindly offered me their assistance in any way they can.
‘‘At the moment I do not wish to avail myself of their services, but if I change my mind I know how to contact them.
‘‘Most importantly, I am safe and feeling better as time goes by, but I am not yet strong enough to give a full interview to the media, as I one day hope to do. Until that time, I want to stress that no-one speaks for me, or for my father, but ourselves.’’
She also distanced herself from comments made by a cousin, Viktoria, who last week said she had been denied a visa to visit her relatives in Britain and expressed concern over their lack of contact.
Skripal said: ‘‘I thank my cousin Viktoria for her concern for us, but ask that she does not visit me or try to contact me for the time being.
‘‘Her opinions and assertions are not mine and they are not my father’s.’’ – Telegraph Group