Charles Rowley, a UK citizen who was exposed to a military-grade nerve agent in Amesbury last summer, does not hold Russia responsible for the incident, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Alexander Yakovenko told Sputnik on Monday
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2019) Charles Rowley, a UK citizen who was exposed to a military-grade nerve agent in Amesbury last summer, does not hold Russia responsible for the incident, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Alexander Yakovenko told Sputnik on Monday.Charles Rowley and his brother Matthew met with Yakovenko on Saturday on their own initiative. Charles was exposed to the toxic military-grade nerve agent, the same toxin that is believed to have left Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal in coma for weeks, in the UK city of Amesbury in early July. Charles' girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who had also come into contact with the substance, died as a result of the incident. Speculations alleging Russia's role in the Amesbury incident and the attack on Skripal in Salisbery have been repeatedly condemned by Moscow as evidence-free.
"I would like to emphasize, the Rowley brothers did not accuse Russia of any wrongdoing. One can see from the photographs and videos taken by the journalists present that the atmosphere of the meeting evidenced the contrary," the ambassador said.
Yakovenko added that he met the two brothers in order to brief them on the steps taken by Russia to get access to UK intelligence concerning the attack as well as information on the well-being of the victims. Yakovenko added that he had handed over a report containing letters and notes sent by the Russian side to London to the Rowleys.
"We have responded to the request to meet because there have been so many speculations recently regarding Russia's involvement in the incidents in Salisbury and Amesbury. In this regard, we wanted to explain our position to Charles Rowley and his brother Matthew ... We took this opportunity to give [the brothers] a copy of a report we compiled entitled 'Salisbury: Unanswered Questions,'" the ambassador said.
Yakovenko also said that he welcomed future meetings with the Rowley brothers and that he was open to a dialogue if they had any further questions following the examination of the above-mentioned report.
On March 4, 2018, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench near a shopping center in Salisbury. London claimed they were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent and accused Moscow of staging the attack. The Kremlin has repeatedly dismissed the claims about Russia's involvement in the attack and stressed that Moscow has been denied access both to the investigation into the incident and to the Russian nationals.
