Weapons watchdog: Nerve agent used on former spy

LONDON — The international chemical weapons watchdog on Thursday confirmed Britain’s finding that a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent, as Russia continued to deny suggestions that it was behind the attack.

Investigators from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said the nerve agent was “of high purity.” Britain says that means only a state with a sophisticated laboratory could have manufactured it.

The watchdog’s report does not say who was responsible for the attack, since that was outside the scope of its mission. The OPCW’S job was to identify the poison, not to trace its origins or assign blame.

Britain blames Russia for the March 4 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury.

Russia denies involvement, and says Britain hasn’t shared any evidence for its assertion.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday accused Britain of waging a defamation campaign against Russia, manipulating public opinion and hiding facts.

Britain has asked for a meeting of OPCW ‘s executive council on Wednesday to discuss the organization’s findings, and Britain is also seeking a meeting of the U.N. Security Council next week on the chemical weapons report.

In a published summary, the OPCW did not name Novichok, the type of nerve agent previously cited by British Prime Minister Theresa May. But it confirmed “the findings of the United Kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic chemical that was used in Salisbury.” It said the name and structure of the toxin were included in the full classified report, distributed to 192 member states of the organization.