UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's speculations alleging that Russia may use chemical weapons have nothing to do with reality, the Russian Embassy in London said on Monday.
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd October, 2018) UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's speculations alleging that Russia may use chemical weapons have nothing to do with reality, the Russian Embassy in London said on Monday.
At the Conservative Party Conference on Sunday, Hunt warned that Russia will pay a "high price" in case it uses chemical weapons. It was not the first time when London threatens Moscow with grave consequences over possible use of chemical weapons, despite the fact that Russia destroyed its chemical arsenal, which was confirmed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) a year ago.
"We do not in the least wish to comment on another portion of the aggressive anti-Russian accusations made by Jeremy Hunt, which are a far cry from reality. We would like to point out that as regards to the Salisbury incident we have to deal with the reckless position of the current British authorities, as they refuse without any substantial explanations, to cooperate with Russia on the investigation of the poisoning of the two Russian nationals on British soil," the embassy told reporters.
According to the embassy, London is probing the Skripals' case in "a non-transparent way," classifying circumstances around the incident, which demonstrates that the United Kingdom had something to hide.
"We believe that such situation yet again confirms that the Tory government has something to conceal, as it is afraid of transparent and honest cooperation. This is the objective reality, which cannot be hidden behind emotional calls to 'stand up to the aggressive Russia,'" the embassy concluded.
On March 4, Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench at a shopping center in the UK city of Salisbury, which prompted London to accuse Moscow of having poisoned the Skripals with what UK experts claim was the A234 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.
Moscow has denied all accusations, saying that the Skripal affair was falling apart due to the lack of evidence proving the purported Russian involvement. The Russian Foreign Ministry has sent some 60 diplomatic notes to the UK Foreign Office demanding that Russia be given access to the investigation and the Skripals, who have Russian citizenship, as well as proposing legal assistance and cooperation, including on the joint inquiry. The UK authorities have not responded to any of these notes.
