Russia has told the United Nations Security Council that British intelligence services probably poisoned Sergei Skripal. The US accused Russia of peddling conspiracy theories and said it stood behind the UK.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/M. Altaffer
Advertisement
Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, accused the UK of being responsible for the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in a blistering address to the UN Security Council on Thursday.
His speech covered a series of discrepancies he saw in the British response to the Salisbury attack.
"Since the British authorities dare to state with a ‘high degree of probability' that Russia is behind the Salisbury incident, we also, with a ‘high degree of probability' assume that the intelligence agencies of certain countries are behind this mega provocation," Nebenzya said.
"It is more than likely that this very questionable case is a fabrication."
"It's some sort of theater of the absurd. Couldn't you come up with a better fake story?" Nebenzya added.
Nebenzya said the UK had admitted it was in possession of the nerve agent.
"Novichok is not copyrighted by Russia in spite of the obviously Russian name. It was a name that was invented in the west for a line of toxic substances, which is nothing new for experts and scientists. They were developed in many countries including in the US and in Great Britain."
"Boris Johnson confirmed to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle that they have this substance in their hands."
He said Porton Down scientist Gary Aitkenhead had revealed that his lab had samples of Novichok when he told Sky News that the substance could not "leave the four walls of our facilities."
"What was this that couldn't leave the laboratory? And does the OPCW know about his substance," he asked.
He said the British investigation had leapt to conclusions and left many questions unanswered.
"I don't think that the British investigative bodies are grateful to the British government for their hasty and unequivocal conclusions. Your politicians never thought about this, they had no idea that their hyped up statements might boomerang and hit them."
He listed a series of unanswered questions that he said cast doubt on the British conclusions, including: "Where were the Skripals for four hours with their phones switched off? How were the samples taken and who can confirm their reliability? Why weren't relatives asked for their approval to take blood samples? How did the antidote against an unknown chemical substance appear so quickly and was it injected?"
"We all know what the worth of British intelligence is based on the experience of Tony Blair."
The poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal has caused a standoff between Russia and the UK. Russia has denied knowledge of the poisoning but that hasn't stopped other countries taking action.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Caddick
Ex-Russian spy poisoned
On March 4, former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter were found slumped on a bench outside a shopping center in the British town of Salisbury. Authorities said both were in a critical condition after being exposed to an "unknown substance." Skripal was a former general of Russian military intelligence who had been convicted in Russia for spying for the UK.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass
Russia denies involvement
Russia denied any knowledge of the poisoning, which echoed the murder of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. Litvinenko was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210. "We see that such a tragic situation happened," Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on March 6. "But we don't have information about what could be the cause, what this person did."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/TASS/M. Metzel
Nerve agent suspected
On March 7, British police said they suspected a very rare nerve agent was behind the poisoning of Skripal. "This is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder by administration of a nerve agent," Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said in a statement. "I can also confirm that we believe the two people originally who became unwell were targeted specifically."
British police said more than 21 people had sought medical treatment as a result of the nerve agent attack. On March 8, UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd told the House of Commons that enormous resources were being used to determine who was behind the attack. Rudd called the use of a chemical nerve agent on British soil a "brazen and reckless" act that would be answered with all possible force.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/A. Matthews
May gives Russia a deadline
On March 12, British Prime Minister Theresa May told lawmakers it was "highly likely" Russia was behind the poisoning. May said the Russian government had either ordered the attack or lost control of the Russian-produced chemical nerve agent Novichok. She gave Moscow until midnight on Tuesday to explain its Novichok program to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/empics/PA Wire
EU supports UK
On March 13, vice president of the European Commission European Union, Valdis Dombrovskis, said the EU would stand in solidarity with Britain after London accused Russia of being behind the nerve agent attack. When asked if the EU might impose sanctions of Russia if it was agreed Moscow was responsible for the attack, Dombrovskis said: "Of course, the UK can count on EU solidarity in this regard."
Image: picture-alliance/empics/Y. Mok
Russia calls UK bluff
Russia failed to respond to May’s midnight deadline for an explanation of its suspected involvement in the poisoning. On March 14, a spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in London said Moscow would not respond "until it receives samples of the chemical substance." May had said a "full range" of retaliatory measures would be considered if Moscow did not give a "credible response" by the deadline.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Augstein
UK announces expulsions of diplomats
After Russia failed to give an explanation, May announced on March 14 that the UK would expel 23 Russian diplomats identified as "undeclared intelligence officers." May also said the UK would suspend all high-level bilateral contact with Russia. The biggest expulsions from London in 30 years would "fundamentally degrade Russian intelligence capability for years to come," May said.
Image: picture alliance/TASS/dpa/I. Dmitryachev
France, Germany, UK, US blame Russia
On March 15, the leaders of France, Germany, the UK and US released a joint statement that demanded "complete disclosure" from Russia saying there is "no plausible alternative" to Moscow's involvement. The statement said the attack using "a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia" constituted "an assault on UK sovereignty" that threatened "the security of us all."
Image: picture alliance/NurPhoto/A. Pezzali
Russia expels British diplomats
In retaliation to the UK, Russia said it would also expel 23 British diplomats, giving them the same one-week deadline. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it would also close the British Council in Russia, and might take further measures against Britain in the event of more "hostile steps" from London. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, had said Moscow would "of course" respond with expulsions.
"It's complete drivel, rubbish, nonsense that somebody in Russia would allow themselves to do such a thing ahead of elections and the World Cup," Putin said on March 19. "It's quite obvious that if it were a military-grade nerve agent, people would have died on the spot." Putin said Moscow "destroyed all our chemical weapons under international oversight unlike some of our partners."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Klimentyev
UK says Novichok was used
On March 20, UK scientists determined Skripal was poisoned using a little-known nerve agent from a group of chemical compounds known as Novichok. The family of compounds, which were developed in the 1970s and 80s, comprise numerous nerve agents. The Soviets once developed these weapons to circumvent the Chemical Weapons Convention. Novichok-5 and Novichok-7 are supposed to be the most dangerous.
Image: Getty Images/C.J. Ratcliffe
Mass Russian diplomat expulsions
A number of EU countries teamed together on March 26 and simultaneously announced they would be expelling Russian diplomats. Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Latvia and Ukraine all announced they would be expelling Russian envoys. The US followed suit with the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats and announced the closure of Moscow's consulate in Seattle.
Image: Reuters/G. Garanich
Poison on front door
UK police found the highest concentration of the nerve agent on the front door of the Skripal's family home in Salisbury. They believe that is where Skripal and his daughter must have first come into contact with the poison. It was likely mixed in with a "gloopy substance" smeared on the door handle.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/F. Augstein
New Novichok victims
In early July, weeks after both Skripals were discharged from the Salisbury hospital, another two people were apparently poisoned with the same substance in the nearby town of Amesbury. A 45-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman were found unconscious and were transported to the same hospital in critical condition.
Image: Getty Images/J. Taylor
15 images1 | 15
Playing with fire
He warned Britain that it had poisoned Russia's international relations without proper evidence.
"We have told our British colleagues that you are playing with fire and you'll be sorry."
UK, US respond
British Ambassador Karen Pierce said London would not "take any lectures on morality or on our responsibilities from a country that, as this council debated yesterday, has done so much to block the proper investigation of the use of chemical weapons in Syria."
Britain's actions "stand up to any scrutiny" and pledged to keep the 15-member body updated on the inquiry.
"We have nothing to hide ... but I do fear that Russia might have something to fear," Pierce said.
Meanwhile, the US accused Russia of peddling conspiracy theories and reaffirmed its support for Britain.
"The fact that a permanent member of this council was behind an incident like this is appalling," said deputy US ambassador to the UN Kelley Currie.
She said the US stood beside the UK over the matter.
