PRESS RELEASES AND NEWS
28.03.2018
Foreign Ministry statement on the Salisbury incidentThe British authorities have demonstrated their inability to ensure the safety of Russian citizens more than once. The glaring examples include the poisoning of former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko, the death of businessmen Badri Patarkatsishvili and Alexander Perepelichny under unclear circumstances, the mysterious “suicide” of Boris Berezovsky and the strangling of Berezovsky’s business partner Nikolai Glushkov, and lastly, the recent attempt on the lives and health of Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
In the latter case, London acted contrary to all the norms of international law, ethics and even common sense. London has accused Russia of poisoning Russian citizens without providing any evidence or the complete picture of the crime. At the same time, it has provided the alleged name of the toxic agent, which has never been used in Russia, and has launched a large-scale political and media campaign against Russia. It has initiated the campaign to expel Russian diplomats from a number of countries and representative offices at international organisations and has announced a package of other sanctions. Meanwhile, it has completely disregarded our legitimate requests to share the samples of the alleged toxic agent.
On March 16, 2018, Russia’s Investigative Committee initiated criminal proceedings regarding the attempted murder of Russian citizen Yulia Skripal and submitted a relevant request to the British side. We expect London to cooperate with us within the framework of the investigation that has been launched by the Russian legal authorities.
The actions of the British authorities raise many questions. The British public is being kept in the dark regarding the key elements of this incident, which has been described as extremely dangerous, and the number of the people affected is kept secret. No information has been provided about the activities of Britain’s secret research facility in Porton Down near Salisbury, where chemical research was conducted. No information has been provided about Operation Toxic Dagger, an annual chemical warfare exercise conducted at the Porton Down facility together with the UK military, which was completed shortly before the Skripals’ poisoning.
Meanwhile, London has initiated a worldwide campaign to spread the presumption of Russia’s guilt. We see a deliberate and purposeful escalation of confrontation and a demonstration of military force on Russia’s border. It is an obvious effort to undermine the political and diplomatic interaction that could lead to an objective and comprehensive investigation of the Salisbury incident.
The analysis of all these circumstances shows that the UK authorities are not interested in identifying the real causes and the real perpetrators of the crime in Salisbury, which suggests a possible involvement of the UK intelligence services. Unless we receive convincing proof of the opposite, we will regard this incident as an attempt on the life of Russian citizens as part of a large-scale political provocation. We emphasise that the burden of proof rests solely on the UK.
LATEST EVENTS
Recent accusations against Russia of creating a threat of a global food crisis by not letting cargo ships with grain out of Odessa and other Ukrainian ports have nothing to do with reality. The situation in the Black Sea is at the centre of attention of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), headquartered here in London.
Representatives of the collective West members are tripping over each other as they scramble to accuse Russia of undermining global food security. The G7 has issued a special statement in this regard. To be sure, we responded.
The situation at the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) has been deteriorating. The NATO and EU members of the CBSS have turned their backs on equitable dialogue and the principles upon which this regional Baltic organisation was built, and have consistently turned it into an anti-Russia political tool. Unlawful and discriminatory decisions are approved in violation of the consensus rule. Russia has been “excluded” from participating in CBSS work and projects. Belarus’ observer status with the CBSS has been “suspended.”
On Victory Day Ambassador Andrei Kelin laid a wreath to the Soviet War Memorial in London. The ceremony was also attended by other CIS countries’ Ambassadors, members of the Russian Speaking Community Council and the Russian diaspora in UK. Following the ceremony the Ambassador gave an interview to Russian media.
President of Russia – Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Federation Armed Forces Vladimir Putin attended a military parade marking the 77th anniversary of Victory in the 1941–1945 Great Patriotic War. Overall, 11,000 personnel and 131 units of military equipment were engaged in the parade.
An announcement made on April 25 to the effect that the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor’s Office will join the Joint Investigation Group (JIG) comprised of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine and created under the auspices of Eurojust has come to our attention.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We held substantive talks during which we discussed many issues that are facing the UN. We continue working on Syria and Libya. Neither must we slacken attention to the Middle East settlement. It is one of the oldest conflicts in the world, which is moving ever further away from its solution, contrary to the UN Security Council resolutions.
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has taken note of UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces James Heappey’s statement that it would “not necessarily be a problem” if British-donated weapons are used to hit targets on Russian territory. We would like to stress that London’s direct instigation of the regime in Kiev to commit such actions, should these attempts materialize, will instantly entail our proportionate response.
Maria Zakharova: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who recently went to Kiev, must be aware of the developments with Her Majesty’s subjects. He is sure to reply, isn’t he?
As a result of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine (SMO), Russia’s Armed Forces found documents that shed some light on the bio-military programme implemented by the US Defence Department in Ukraine. The researchers in the programme were studying the most dangerous pathogens – potential biological agents for biological weapons that have natural focuses in both Ukraine and Russia. They were also researching ways that epidemics spread based on these agents.
Maria Zakharova: As a result of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine (SMO), Russia’s Armed Forces found documents that shed some light on the bio-military programme implemented by the US Defence Department in Ukraine.
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