Russian High Commissioner for Human Rights Tatiana Moskalkova in a comment to Sputnik on Wednesday compared London's claims in the case of the poisoning of former Russian double agent officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK city of Salisbury to a PR campaign aimed at defaming Russia.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2018) Russian High Commissioner for Human Rights Tatiana Moskalkova in a comment to Sputnik on Wednesday compared London's claims in the case of the poisoning of former Russian double agent officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK city of Salisbury to a PR campaign aimed at defaming Russia.
Earlier in the day, UK authorities said they had identified the suspects in the poisoning case as Russian nationals Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. Moreover, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said Russian military intelligence was behind the attack on the Skripals. Russian Envoy to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Alexander Shulgin, in turn, said that the suspects' photos and Names released by London did not prove Russia's involvement in the attack.
"Unfortunately, these people [accused by UK authorities] have not addressed us [for help]. We do not even know if these people exist ... It is just a continuation of a PR campaign aimed at discrediting our citizens, our diplomats, Russia's efforts in protecting human rights across the world," Moskalkova said.
The UK Foreign Office has accused Moscow of orchestrating the poisoning of the Skripals with the use of the A234 military-grade nerve agent. The country's Porton Down lab has said, however, that it could not prove that the nerve agent, used in the attack, was made in Russia or determine its country of origin.
The situation led to an international row, with scores of Russian diplomats being expelled from the United Kingdom and other EU countries. Moscow has expelled UK diplomats from Russia in response to the country's actions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in July that Moscow had submitted to the UK authorities around 60 official requests to allow Moscow access to the investigation into the Salisbury attack and its victims, who were Russian nationals. Moreover, Moscow has offered to work together with London and carry out a joint investigation. London did not respond to these proposals, instead claiming that Russia rejected its calls for cooperation.
