- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

UK, Allies Want to Preserve Chemical Labs for New Provocations - Russian Embassy

© Sputnik / Alex McNaughton / Go to the mediabankMilitary men cleaning the spots related to Skripal poisoning in Salisbury.
Military men cleaning the spots related to Skripal poisoning in Salisbury. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
LONDON (Sputnik) - The United Kingdom and its allies strive to preserve their chemical laboratories to stage further provocations, a spokesperson of the Russian Embassy in London said on Thursday.

"Therefore, the problem is obviously not with Russia 'loving Novichok so much' (to use the words of Mr. Hunt), but with the UK and its allies willing to allow their laboratories, like the notorious Porton Down, to continue with chemical experiments and provocations", the spokesperson said, as quoted by a press release published on the embassy's website.

READ MORE: US Has Prepared New Sanctions Against Russia Over Skripal Case — Reports

On Wednesday, UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt wrote in Twitter that Russia objected to a military-grade nerve agent Novichok being added to the list of banned chemical substances by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and accused Moscow of using it in the poisoning incident in Salisbury last March.

In this Tuesday, March 13, 2018 file photo the combined tower and spire of Salisbury Cathedral stand surrounded by the medieval city where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found critically ill following exposure to the Russian-developed nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury, England - Sputnik International
Police Chief Says Unaware of Skripal's Residency in Salisbury Prior to Poisoning
The spokesperson also noted that Hunt highlighted just one side of the issue, as, in fact, during a session of the OPCW Executive Council in January, the United States, Canada and the Netherlands proposed to include only two groups of substances, named Novichok by Western countries, to the OPCW list. However, Russia opposed this initiative, as suggested that "all new generation toxic materials tested in many countries need to be added into those lists".

On 4 March 2018, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench near a shopping center in Salisbury. London claimed they were poisoned with a military-grade A234 nerve agent and accused Moscow of staging the attack, provoking a huge international scandal.

READ MORE: Secrecy Around Skripal Case Shows It Was UK 'Anti-Russian Set-Up' — Embassy

The Kremlin has repeatedly dismissed the claims about Russia's involvement in the attack and stressed that Moscow has been denied access both to the investigation into the incident and to the Russian nationals.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала