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'Extremely Worrying': OPCW Chief Says Salisbury Incident Demands Investigation

© REUTERS / Peter NichollsOfficials in protective suits check their equipment before repositioning the forensic tent, covering the bench where Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found, in the centre of Salisbury, Britain, March 8, 2018
Officials in protective suits check their equipment before repositioning the forensic tent, covering the bench where Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found, in the centre of Salisbury, Britain, March 8, 2018 - Sputnik International
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The director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has called the use of a chemical agent in UK’s Salisbury "extremely worrying," calling for accountability for those responsible, UK Permanent Representative to OPCW Peter Wilson said Tuesday.

"DG [Director General Ahmet] Uzumcu told @OPCW's Executive Council in The Hague just now, on the Salisbury incident, that: ‘it is extremely worrying that chemical agents are still being used to harm people. Those found responsible for this must be held accountable for their actions," Wilson said in a tweet.

Earlier in March, former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench at a shopping center in Salisbury, Wiltshire. They are receiving medical treatment for what appears to be exposure to a chemical substance.

On Monday, UK prime minister said that Russia was "highly likely" responsible for the Salisbury incident. According to Theresa May, they were poisoned with a Novichok class military-grade nerve agent, which was developed by Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry - Sputnik International
Moscow Warns UK Against Delivering Ultimatums to Russia Over Skripal Case
Commenting on May's statement, Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that it was another "informational and political campaign based on a provocation." She added that the accusations were aimed at undermining trust in Russia as the organizer of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in turn, said that the United Kingdom should figure things out on its own before discussing the incident with Russia.

In 2006, Skripal was sentenced in Russia to 13 years in prison for cooperating with the UK Secret Intelligence Service MI-6 and disclosing the names of Russian intelligence agents working undercover in Europe. Skripal was granted asylum in the United Kingdom after a US-Russia spy exchange in 2010.

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