The statement followed Wednesday's publication by Bellingcat, in cooperation with the Insider Russia website, which claimed that Boshirov was "in fact" a military intelligence colonel called Anatoly Chepiga. Bellingcat has in the past published materials that were unconfirmed.
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A search of Interpol red notices showed that there was no one under the last name of Chepiga. There are no red notices for Boshirov and Petrov either. According to media reports, Interpol red notices and European arrest warrants have already been issued for suspects in the Skripal case.
Petrov and Boshirov told the RT broadcaster in an interview earlier this month that they knew nothing about the Skripals and refuted all allegations of their involvement in the case. The two said they worked in the fitness industry and had gone to Salisbury as tourists.
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Bellingcat previously alleged that Petrov and Boshirov were military intelligence agents, according to the Federal Migration Service data. However, Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov said that it was impossible to obtain this kind of information from migration service data.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stressed that the Skripal case was falling apart due to the lack of proof.
The ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, has said that the story about Boshirov's alleged identity was fake news and a means to divert the public's attention from the Salisbury poisoning.
