London's refusal to provide legal assistance to Russia's Prosecutor General's Office in the Skripal poisoning case proves that the UK authorities want to conceal the truth and avoid an objective investigation into the matter, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd October, 2018) London's refusal to provide legal assistance to Russia's Prosecutor General's Office in the Skripal poisoning case proves that the UK authorities want to conceal the truth and avoid an objective investigation into the matter, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.
In late September, the Russian Embassy in London said it had received a reply from the UK Home Office with a refusal to fulfill requests for legal assistance filed by Russian prosecutors in March and April.
"The position of London, approved at the highest political level, only proves the clear desire of this country to conceal the truth and avoid an objective and transparent investigation into the incident involving Skripals, as well as establishing the true cause of it," Zakharova said in a statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry website.
The spokeswoman added that with fake media reports and unsubstantiated accusations, the UK government was using "the Skripal affair" to increase pressure on Russia.
Russian Ambassador in London Alexander Yakovenko suggested on September 26 that London was "actively using" the alleged "Russian threat" including the Salisbury poisoning attack both on the international stage and inside the United Kingdom.
On March 4, Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench at a shopping center in the UK city of Salisbury. London claimed they were poisoned with what UK experts claimed was the A234 nerve agent, accusing Russia of orchestrating the attack.
Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in it. 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.
According to Zakharova, Moscow is concerned over the absence of information on the Skripals' whereabouts and London's refusal to provide consular access to the poisoning victims.
