Russia: Poisoning accusation ‘nonsense’
Russian foreign minister dismisses British claims regarding former spy
MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that his country had nothing to do with the poisoning by nerve agent of a former Russian spyturned-double agent, dismissing Britain’s allegation that Moscow was to blame as “nonsense.”
His remarks came the day after Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain said it was “highly likely” that Russia was behind the poisoning of the former spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, this month. Britain has given Russia until the end of Tuesday to explain itself, but Moscow has consistently insisted it had nothing to do with the attack in the cathedral city of Salisbury, England, where the pair were found incoherent on a park bench.
The dispute between the two countries has sharply worsened tensions between Russia and the West. Moscow is facing increasing criticism over its role in the Syrian conflict, as well as years of sanctions over its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
The latest row comes at a particularly difficult time, with Russia in the spotlight for its role in the U.S. presidential election and just months before Russia hosts the soccer World Cup, a major event the country had hoped would paint it in a positive light.
On Tuesday, Lavrov dismissed the allegations that his country was responsible for the poisoning and argued that Britain had not done enough to provide Russia with access to the nerve agent for investigation.
“It’s all nonsense, we have nothing to do with this,” he told journalists, the news agency Interfax reported.
Lavrov added that Russia had asked London for details of the substance used in the poisoning, but “had received an incoherent response” which he said amounted to a “rejection of our legitimate demands.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry also summoned the British ambassador to Moscow on Tuesday, according to Russian news media.
Britain, however, has stood firm, and Home Secretary Amber Rudd has pledged to investigate 14 other deaths that have been reported to be connected to Russia.
An array of foreign leaders and officials have sounded alarm bells over the nerve-agent attack, which Britain has said was carried out using what is known as a novichok, a class of toxins first produced by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and ’80s.
“It is extremely worrying that chemical agents are still being used to harm people,” Ahmet Uzumcu, the director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said in a statement. “Those found responsible for this use must be held accountable for their actions.”
Earlier, Rex Tillerson, who until Tuesday had been U.S. secretary of state, described the poisoning as an “egregious act” and said it was “almost beyond comprehension that a state, an organized state, would do something like that.” European politicians, including the French interior minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian; and Valdis Dombrovskis, a European Commission vice president, have also voiced concern, with Dombrovskis saying Britain “can count on EU solidarity.”
Skripal, 66, and his daughter, 33, remained in critical condition in a hospital Tuesday, more than a week after the poisoning. He had been working for Russian military intelligence before becoming a double agent for Britain. When he was found out, he was sent to a Russian prison. In 2010, he was freed and sent to Britain in a spy swap.