Moscow condemns all of London’s attempts to blame it for what happened in Salisbury in 2018, and insists on an objective investigation, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated in connection with the five-year anniversary of the poisoning of Russian citizens Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the UK city.
Despite the appeals of the Russian Federation, London still refuses to jointly probe the incident. Neither has London provided any reliable information on the Skripal case, using it unashamedly in its blatant anti-Russia campaign, said the ministry. It added that it intends to seek the truth behind the events in question amid obvious inconsistencies in the British position.
Earlier, the Russian Embassy in London released a statement on Telegram in connection with the anniversary.
Britain fabricated the Salisbury poisoning incident back in 2018 "to prepare its own population and their Western allies for a future confrontation with Russia that has now assumed military-political characteristics in Ukraine”, the Embassy stated.
On 4 March, the diplomatic mission released its official 'Comment on the Fifth Anniversary of the Salisbury Incident' involving Russian citizens Sergei and Yulia Skripal. The embassy pointed out that many details of what really happened in the Wiltshire city remain unknown, and many questions have still gone unanswered by UK authorities, who flatly refused the cooperation offered by Russia. Since 2018, the situation around the Skripals has become one of the elements of the comprehensive anti-Russian course on which London has embarked.
Twitter screenshot of post made by Russian Embassy in London on March 3, 2023, featuring photos of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
© Photo : Twitter
"We now realize that from the very outset London never had any interest in establishing the truth," stated the diplomatic mission, adding:
“Over time, especially against the backdrop of the Russophobic hysteria provoked in the West last year, it is obvious that the events of 2018 were just a 'trial balloon' in a systematic information and psychological campaign aimed at demonizing Russia.”
Twitter screenshot of post made by Russian Embassy in London on March 3, 2023, with an attached report, "Salisbury: Five Years of Unanswered Questions."
© Photo : Twitter
The Russian Embassy in London attached to the social media post a link to its full report, entitled, 'Salisbury: Five Years of Unanswered Questions'.
"Regrettably, we remain unaware of the fate of our two citizens who disappeared on British soil. Our numerous appeals addressed to the authorities of the United Kingdom regarding the circumstances of the incident in Salisbury and the current situation regarding Sergei and Yulia Skripal remain unanswered,” the mission stated, adding that it had sent another "'Note Verbale' to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, reiterating our position and requesting London to clarify the current state of affairs."
The Russian diplomatic mission stressed that it would not stop “pursuing answers from the UK to absolutely legitimate and well-founded questions.”
23 September 2021, 06:53 GMT
Sergei Skripal was a former Russian intelligence officer convicted in 2006 of espionage and released to the UK along with several other individuals in 2010 in a swap. On 4 March 2018, he and his daughter Yulia fell seriously ill in Salisbury, UK. According to a subsequent investigation, the British side decided that they had been "poisoned" with the nerve agent Novichok.
Without providing any substantive evidence, London claimed it was "highly likely" the attack had been carried out by two Russian intelligence officers at the behest of the Kremlin. Moscow categorically rejected all accusations, denouncing the so-called evidence presented by the UK authorities as "lies". After the 2018 incident in Salisbury, almost 30 countries, including the UK and US, expelled more than 150 Russian diplomats in retaliation, and the US and European Union slapped sanctions on Russia.
Moscow has consistently denied involvement in the poisoning and has protested that the UK failed to provide evidence or allow its embassy in London access to the Skripals, who remain Russian nationals.