Moscow lashes out at ‘unacceptable’ Theresa May over Salisbury remarks
Russia has responded to Theresa May‘s claim the two suspects in the Salisbury poisoning case were guilty of lying, labelling the prime minister’s comments “unacceptable”. The British leader suggested the two Russian men believed by security services to be behind the attack had employed “blatant fabrications” when they denied involvement and insisted they were in the city to visit it’s historic cathedral.
But Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said the Kremlin’s position had “not changed”.
“[We are] definite, transparent and consistent,” he said. “It is unacceptable to make any association of
Russian leadership or government with what went on in Salisbury. And to blame Russia of lies after two citizens made a statement. Again, these are ordinary citizens with no relation to government.”
Asked if Mr Putin had watched the widely ridiculed interview with the two men, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, Mr Peskov said: “I don’t know. It’s unlikely he saw it all. I don’t think he had time ... he has no comment to make.”
The pair are charged in the UK with attempting to kill double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, with the Soviet-designed nerve agent novichok. The Skripals survived the 4 March attack in Salisbury, but a local resident later died after apparently having contact with the poison.
Mr Petrov and Mr Boshirov appeared on the state-funded RT channel, saying they visited Salisbury as tourists and had nothing to do with the poisoning. They denied the British claim that they were Russian military intelligence officers, saying they work in the nutritional supplements business. But Mr Peskov said Russian authorities would consider the UK’s request to interrogate them if it comes. He added that Britain had stonewalled repeated Russian offers to conduct a joint inquiry.
“There is a mechanism of legal assistance regulated by bilateral documents and international law,” Mr Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “If we receive a formal request from London, it will certainly be considered by the Russian side in strict conformity with the law.”
He added that “from the very beginning, Russia has emphasised its desire to cooperate to clarify the circumstances of what happened in Salisbury and track down the culprits”, but “the British side has strongly rejected such cooperation”.
The UK said the attack received approval “at a senior level of the Russian state”, an accusation Moscow has fiercely denied.