It’s Comical Alex! Grinning envoy claims UK faked Syrian gas attack
Russia claimed yesterday that Britain had ‘direct involvement’ in staging the chemical attack that killed up to 70 in syria. The ambassador to the UK joined military chiefs in denying there was any evidence chemical weapons had been used in the Eastern Ghouta attack that sparked global condemnation.
in an extraordinary two- hour Press conference in London, a grinning alexander Yakovenko claimed humanitarian volunteers the White Helmets had been supported by the UK and were ‘famous for staging fake chemical attacks’.
But his performance drew comparisons to ‘Comical ali’, the nickname given to saddam Hussein’s spokesman for his colourful appearances amid the 2003 iraq invasion.
His comments echoed earlier remarks by Moscow military chiefs.
according to Russian state broadcaster RT, major-general igor Konashenkov said: ‘The Russian defence ministry also has evidence that Britain had a direct involvement in arranging this provocation in Eastern Ghouta.
‘ We know for certain that between april 3 and april 6 the so- called White Helmets were seriously pressured from London to speed up the provocation that they were preparing.’
But Britain hit back, with the ambassador to the UN Karen Pierce calling the accusations ‘grotesque’ and a ‘blatant lie’.
Mr Yakovenko said: ‘The syrian government had been repeatedly warning for at least a month that rebels prepared to stage a provocation with chemical weapons in this very area.’
He also accused the Government of destroying ‘all possible evidence’ related to the salisbury attack, denying any Russian involvement in the poisoning of ex-spy sergei skripal and his daughter Yulia with nerve agent Novichok.
and, as he warned against intervention in syria, the ambassador used a bizarre video montage of interviews with Tony Blair to suggest that the chemical attack allegations were similar to the former PM’s dubious claims of weapons of mass destruction in iraq.
asked if he thought there was a connection between events in syria and salisbury, Mr Yakovenko said: ‘ We can see some logic there, because one way or another, the whole affair, the real serious affair in salisbury was a huge provocation against my country.’
On Russian involvement in the skripals’ poisoning, the ambassador said: ‘Russia stopped any chemical programmes in 1992.
‘in 2017 we eliminated all the chemical weapons. We didn’t produce Novichok, we didn’t store this Novichok, so-called under the Western classification, [it] was never in our military forces. This is the fact of life.’
Mr Yakovenko said Moscow would send a request to the UK under the Chemical Weapons Convention seeking ‘clarification and information’ over last month’s salisbury attack.
He said: ‘The British Government still hasn’t produced any evidence in support of its position that would confirm their official version. We get the impression the British Government is deliberately pursuing the policy of destroying all possible evidence.’
He also called allegations from the UK that Russian intelligence had been spying on the skripals since at least 2013 a ‘big surprise’.
He said: ‘if somebody was spying why were the British services not complaining about that because they always complain if something goes wrong in their country or some- where else.’ Whitehall sources called his claims ‘attempts to distort and confuse’ that ‘will not get away from the reality that Yulia is the victim of a terrible crime’.
after playing clips of Mr Blair, Mr Yakovenko, who has served as Russian ambassador in the UK since 2011, said: ‘Tony Blair deliberately misinformed the parliament and the public.
‘ it is well known how it ended, with the Chilcot inquiry delivering their verdict.’
He said a strike in syria would be ‘against international law’ and used to ‘discredit the syrian government’, adding: ‘We are witnessing very dangerous developments in syria.
‘The current us politics, supported almost mechanically by France and the UK, is becoming a threat to the peace and security in the region and beyond.’
Whitehall sources said Miss skripal had been the victim of an ‘attempted assassination by a military-grade nerve agent’, adding that four ‘independent, highly reputable laboratories’ had all reported the same conclusive results. They said: There can be no doubt what was used and there remains no alternative explanation about who was responsible – only Russia has the means, motive and record.’
The Russian Embassy has published an 8,000-word report into the skripal poisoning, setting out a timeline, the British response and the lack of information it claims to have received following official requests.
‘Destroying all possible evidence’