Embassy Press Officer on unanswered questions regarding the Salisbury poisoning
Question: At yesterday's briefing, the Official Representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Embassy had asked quite a few questions that remain unanswered. What are those questions?
Answer: Indeed, we are witnessing a blatant violation by the UK of its international obligations under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the 1968 bilateral Consular Convention. We have not received a response to our multiple questions and requests made through diplomatic notes. Failure by Britain to engage in normal diplomatic exchange with the Embassy on this matter is regrettable.
The questions to which we are awaiting answers are as follows:
1) What is Mr and Ms Skripal's exact diagnosis and condition?
2) What treatment are they receiving?
3) Is that treatment the same as that provided to Sgt Nick Bailey?
4) Is it true that Yulia Skripal has regained consciousness and can communicate, eat and drink?
5) Mr Bailey has been discharged, Yulia Skripal is getting better, but why is Sergei Skripal still in a critical condition?
6) Did Mr Bailey, Mr Skripal and Ms Skripal receive antidotes?
7) Which antidotes?
8) How were the right antidotes identified?
9) Did they actually help or harm?
10) The Embassy immediately informed the FCO that Mr Skripal's niece has been enquiring of her uncle's and cousin's health. Why have the authorities ignored her?
11) Why are there no photos/videos confirming that the Skripals are alive and at hospital?
12) Did the Skripals agree on Salisbury CCTV footage to be shown on TV?
13) If not, who agreed on their behalf?
14) Can that person also agree on hospital photos/videos to be published?
15) Why are consuls not allowed to see the Skripals?
16) How are doctors protected against chemical exposure?
17) Can consuls use the same protection?
18) Where, how and by whom were blood samples collected from the Skripals?
19) How was it documented?
20) Who can certify that the data is credible?
21) How can we be sure that the chain of custody was up to international standards?
22) Through what methods did experts identify the substance so quickly?
23) Had they possessed a sample against which to test the substance?
24) Where had that sample come from?
25) Nerve agents act immediately. Why was it not the case with the Skripals?
26) Leaks suggest the Skripals were poisoned at a pub, at a restaurant, in their car, at the airport, at home... Which version is the official one?
27) How to reconcile quick political moves with Scotland Yard's statement that the investigation will take "months"?
We have taken note of the statement by the Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, congratulating Volodymyr Zelenskiy on being elected President of Ukraine. In his statement Mr Hunt said the UK interest in supporting Ukraine was due to the country’s position “on the front-line of Russia’s challenge to the rules-based international system”. The Foreign Secretary also mentioned that Ukraine’s “stability is essential for Europe’s security”. “Cooperation on defence and security” was identified as the first among the areas of future cooperation between London and Kiev.
Novgorod, is one of the oldest cities in Russia with population around 230 thousand people. The Sofia First Chronicle makes initial mention of the city in 859, when it was already a major Baltics-to-Byzantium station on the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. Novgorod is also traditionally considered to be the cradle of Russian statehood.
Question: How would you comment on the New York Times report, reprinted by British media, alleging that CIA Director Gina Haspel persuaded President Trump to take strong measures against Russia following the Salisbury incident by showing him photos of children exposed to chemical poisoning and those of ducks killed by nerve agent? Answer: As everyone else, we learned of the existence of such photos from the New York Times piece. The information on hospitalised children and killed ducks is surprising. The British authorities and media have indeed reported that some members of the public, including children, underwent medical checks as a precautionary measure. However, none of them had any signs of poisoning. Similarly, it has never been reported that ducks or any other animals were killed (apart from Mr Skripal’s pets, incinerated in the Porton Down laboratory for unknown reasons).
Question: How could you comment on the Report of the House of Commons Defence Committee, which blames Russia for the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty?
President Putin sent a message to President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron personally expressing sympathy to the French leader and the entire French nation over the tragic aftermath of the fire at Notre Dame de Paris.
Question: According to reports, Duchess of Abercorn, who served as Russia’s Honorary Consul in Northern Ireland, deceased in December 2018. Are there any plans to appoint a new honorary consul in that region? Answer: The issue of appointing a new Honorary Consul in Northern Ireland, where neither the Embassy in London nor the Consulate General in Edinburgh can effectively exercise consular functions due to objective geographical reasons, is under consideration.
We noted a Twitter post of April 10 by UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, stating that it’s been over a year since Russia used the lethal Novichok agent in Salisbury, yet London hears nothing but denials from Russia, which allegedly objected to Novichok being added to the list of substances controlled by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). It gets more cynical as you read on: “If they love Novichok so much, other countries will rightly worry about the next Salisbury.”
More than a year has passed since former Deputy Director General of Aeroflot Nikolay Glushkov, a national of the Russian Federation, mysteriously died in London. One would argue that the investigators have had plenty of time to present their lines of inquiry. However, the crime continues to be passed over in silence by law enforcement officials, politicians and the media.
Just now, we watched online as the British police detained WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. We noted that the operation was conducted in the office of the Ecuadorian diplomatic mission with the embassy’s approval. Judging from the format of the operation, a blatant and brutal neglect of the detainee’s human dignity took place. We hope that all Julian Assange’s rights will be observed.
We are both surprised and not at the convening of an emergency meeting on Venezuela, all the more with participation of the Vice-President of the United States, whom you are always glad to welcome in this room. It is a pity he did not want to listen to other Members of the Council share their views on the situation in Venezuela. Today we watch just another act in a multi-act drama that attempts to change the regime in Venezuela. The situation in Venezuela does not pose a threat to international peace and security, whereas external actors pose a direct threat to peace and security inside Venezuela. This is what we have just heard.
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