Child of poisoned Russian ex-spy says she’s recovering
LONDON — In her first public comment since she and her father, a former Russian spy, were poisoned by a nerve agent, Yulia Skripal said Thursday from a hospital that she’s recovering quickly but that the ordeal has been “somewhat disorientating.”
Britain has blamed Russia for the March 4 poisoning of Yulia and Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, and more than two dozen Western allies have expelled over 150 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity. Moscow has fiercely denied the accusations and sent home an equal number of envoys in an all-out diplomatic war.
Yulia Skripal, 33, said in a statement released by British police that her “strength is growing daily” and expressed gratitude to those who came to her aid.
“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 treating the Skripals confirmed that Yulia’s health has improved, while her 66-year-old father remains in critical condition.
Russian state TV on Thursday released a recording of a purported phone call between Yulia Skripal and her cousin in Russia, although the broadcaster said it could not verify its authenticity. In the call, Yulia Skripal allegedly says she and her father are both recovering and in normal health and that her father’s health has not been irreparably damaged.
Rossiya TV said Skripal’s niece, Viktoria, who lives in Moscow, gave it the purported recording.
Russian Foreign Minister Yulia Skripal and her father, Sergei, were poisoned in the U.K. by a nerve agent. Sergey Lavrov described the British accusations against Moscow as a mockery of international law. At a news conference Thursday, Lavrov insisted the poisoning case was fabricated by Britain to “demonize” Russia.
Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Karen Pierce said Russia has come up with 24 theories on who bears responsibility in the poisoning case, but the United Kingdom has only one — that it’s highly likely Russia was responsible.
“We believe that the U.K.’s actions stand up to any scrutiny,” Pierce said. “We have nothing to hide, but I do fear that Russia might have something to fear.”
As part of the diplomatic row, Russia last week ordered 60 U.S. diplomats to leave the country in retaliation for Washington’s expulsion of the same number of Russians.
Three buses believed to be carrying expelled American diplomats left the U.S. Embassy in Moscow early Thursday after loading their luggage on trucks. Some toted pet carriers.
Lavrov noted that Russia will respond in kind to any further hostile moves but added that “we also want to establish the truth.”
He sarcastically likened the British accusations to the queen from Alice in Wonderland urging “sen- tence first — verdict afterward.”
On Wednesday, Russia called a meeting of the international chemical weapons watchdog to demand a joint investigation with Britain into the poisoning — a demand that London has rejected.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons voted against the Russian proposal, but Moscow said the number of countries that abstained from the vote suggested many have doubts about Britain’s accusations. “It’s unacceptable to make unfounded accusations instead of conducting a fair investigation and providing concrete facts,” Lavrov said. “Yesterday’s debate in The Hague showed that selfrespecting adults don’t believe in fairy tales.”
Asked if Russia would accept the OPCW’s conclusions, Lavrov said Moscow must be part of the inquiry and see the evidence.
“We can’t give an advance approval to results of the investigation, in which we aren’t taking part and which is kept secret,” he said.
Russia’s U.N. ambassador says Moscow assumes “with a high degree of probability” that the intelligence services of other countries are likely behind the poisoning of the former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain.
Vassily Nebenzia told the U.N. Security Council at a Thursday meeting called by Russia that “everything confirms this is a coordinated, very well-planned campaign” intended “to discredit and even delegitimize Russia.”
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Wednesday “the purpose of Russia’s ludicrous proposal at The Hague was clear — to undermine the independent, impartial work of the international chemical weapons watchdog.”