Guilty Before Presumed Innocent? Why is Russia Being Blamed for the Skripal Poisoning?
The odd story about the former GRU colonel and British spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter being poisoned in London is being used to fuel the anti-Russian campaign, has said the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. The British authorities didn't even reach out to Moscow to ask for help with the investigation but have already discovered "the Russian connection".
Alexander Khabarov has the details.
What was used to poison Skripal and his daughter, if any? The British police can't answer the key question yet of the mysterious case. The Skripals are currently in the ICU. Their blood samples are being analyzed at the Porton Down laboratory. The Italian restaurant where the victims had lunch that day remains closed.
One of the British papers discovered that the former colonel was being rude and made a scene because he didn't like the service. After paying the bill, the grumpy couple left the restaurant and went to a nearby pub.
The Salisbury case began on Sunday next to the local mall on the bench that's now hidden under a tent. A man and a woman were found there, both unconscious. The investigation is still in process but naturally, the local press is trying to tie Russia to it. British politicians are threatening Moscow creating a controversy.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson even threatened Moscow with a boycott of the FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary: "I think we'll have a serious conversation about our engagement with Russia. And I think it will be very difficult to see how we can head to the World Cup this summer. It will be very difficult to imagine the UK representation at this event".
Later, London clarified that Johnson didn't mean the UK football team but the sports functionaries as if it changed anything.
The Russian Foreign Ministry responded instantly.
Maria Zakharova, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman: "They've launched a traditional campaign based on speculations. To be frank, it's nothing more than a provocation aimed to complicate the relations between our countries. It could only be seen as a provocation".
In Russia, Skripal had been sentenced to 13 years for espionage. but was pardoned four years later. In 2010, he was exchanged for the Russian agents arrested in the US. After that, he led a quiet life in his house in Salisbury. He didn't try to hide and received post under his own name.
- Do you remember the last name of the addressee?
- It was a foreign name with many letters.
- Was it "Skripal"?
- Yes, that's the one.
Skripal was supervised by the UK intelligence just like former FSB operative Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned in London or Boris Berezovsky who mysteriously passed away after interacting with the UK intelligence and counterintelligence in London.
Alexander Khabarov and Ilya Mordyukov Vesti, Great Britain.