New Novichok Developments: Agent Was Already in Germany by 90’s and Spread From There
They bought the formula from a Soviet scientist, sent the sample to Sweden for testing, and then gave it out to the NATO colleagues. Those are results of a joint investigation of two German newspapers and two TV companies. All of them, interested in the origin of the nerve gas that was used to poison the Skripals, found out that Germany is definitely not a newcomer in this case. According to the data, published in "Die Zeit", the formula of the A-234 was very well known to the German special services as early as the 90's. It all began with awarding citizenship to a Soviet chemist, whose name is not mentioned.
Mikhail Antonov will tell what happened next and why it's improper to speak about it today in the EU.
Novichok's journey around the world began over 25 years ago. During the co-investigation of the history of the poison involved in the Skripal's case, German journalists from the ARD channel and the newspapers Süddeutsche Zeitung und Die Zeit came to the following conclusion.
Georg Mascolo, journalist: "The very quick conclusion by the British that the Novichok could have been used only by Russia is wrong. Novichok has been a secret, known to the West for many years already".
The first western country, where a sample of the toxic agent landed, was Germany. In the early 90s, the German intelligence service BND was contacted by a Russian scientist, who suggested sharing a secret in exchange for shelter. This man is still alive, his name is not disclosed. He smuggled the chemical across border himself, or more specifically – his wife.
"After the scientist's wife smuggled the samples, the chemical was sent to a Swedish laboratory, where it was tested. It took several weeks to obtain the results".
The Swedes, who are considered to be great specialists in combat chemical agents, were given the samples because the Germans didn't want to deal with it. It was just after Helmut Kohl's government made the Americans withdraw their chemical arsenals from Germany. The Swedes sent back a chemical formula, which was immediately shared by BND with the allies. The Novichok's secret in the mid 90's was already known to at least 6 NATO countries, plus Sweden, and they were able to produce it on a regular basis, or rather couldn't help but produce.
"... according to the late 90's articles, the formula and samples of the new war agent were not only in Germany, but also in the USA, Great Britain, France, Netherlands, and Canada. Probably, those countries may have even produced small amounts of poison themselves, and also meticulously worked on the defense means for their armies, in case of a confrontation with Russia".
Leonid Rink, Doctor of Chemistry: "It's not a one-time thing, that you can make 5 grams of and then destroy, That's complete nonsense. Because all detection devices have a warranty period, an expiry date. That's why they need to be produced again and again, and supplied to all the armed forces".
The A230 and A234 were named Novichok (newcomer) because they were a new type of chemicals and didn't fall under the existing prohibitions and restrictions. The Americans, who haven't eliminated even the old gases, tried to leave everything as it was. In 2011, they blocked the adding of Novichok to the Chemical Weapons Convention. It's unclear whether it was before or after, but anyway, the Novichok formula ended up, for instance, in the Czech Republic.
Miloš Zeman, the President of the Czech Republic: "The conclusion is that the Novichok substance was produced and tested in our country in small amounts and then disposed of. It's hypocrisy to pretend it's not true".
It's impossible to say where, in which labs of which countries Novichok is being tested today. Having studied the investigation of its colleagues, the Der Spiegel magazine agreed that the Russian reaction on the accusations by the British seems to be pretty logical.
"The fact that it was exactly the German BND, who had the samples of the nerve agent over 20 prior to the Salisbury attempt and also shared their knowledge with the allies, can support the conspiracy theory against Russia".
It's been a while since the British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson was reminded that he lied when he stated that Novichok could be made only by the Russians. This strange story in Salisbury rather quickly disappeared from the British press spotlight, but for the German one, this subject is not yet closed. After all, Germany was lured into the Skripal case it was made to expel 4 Russian diplomats, so this needs to be sorted out. The German government and intelligence service don't comment on the investigation yet but promise to dig through the archives and recheck the information.
Mikhail Antonov, Alexander Korostylev, Andrey Putro, Vesti, Berlin, Germany.