LONDON, July 13. /TASS/. The British authorities try to politicize the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) "at the expense of its reputation," a spokesperson for Russia’s embassy to the UK told reporters on Saturday.
The diplomat commented on a media question about the Foreign Office’s recent statement that London had invited the OPCW experts to come to the UK within the framework of the investigation into the Amesbury incident.
"Such procedure of ‘independent verification’ of the nerve agent initiated by the British side lacks transparency, goes beyond the framework of the CWC mechanisms. This initiative is another step to politicize the OPCW’s work at the expense of its reputation," the diplomat said.
"Following the new invitation extended by the UK to the OPCW technical experts ‘to independently confirm the identity of the nerve agent’, which Charles Rowley and Dawn Sturgess have been exposed to, we would like remind of the fact that after the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury in March Russia proposed to the UK to use the mechanisms under Article IX, paragraph 2 of the CWC [Chemical Weapons Convention] and carry out a joint investigation," he said.
"But the British side categorically refused to cooperate, did not provide substantive answers to our legitimate, reasonable and comprehensive questions. It decided instead to continue making numerous groundless allegations against Russia, and refused to engage in a constructive dialogue, thus directly undermining spirit and letter of the CWC," he continued.
Amid the current situation, the Russian embassy urged "the British authorities to conduct the investigation in a transparent way, as it is still possible to repair the damage they inflicted on the international image of their own country."
Amesbury incident
On June 30, Dawn Sturgess, 44, and Charles Rowley, 45, were hospitalized in critical condition in the British town of Amesbury, Wiltshire County. Sturgess died in hospital on July 8, while Rowley, who had been in critical condition, regained consciousness and was questioned by the police.
The Metropolitan Police claimed later that the two had been exposed to Novichok, the same nerve agent that was allegedly used in the March attack on former Russian military intelligence (GRU) Colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in neighboring Salisbury. Back then, London rushed to accuse Moscow of being behind the attack. Russia has been categorically denying its involvement ever since.
On Friday, the Metropolitan Police said that a bottle containing the Novichok nerve agent was found in Rowley’s home. Immediately afterwards, the Foreign Office said that OPCW experts would arrive in the UK the next week at London’s request to identify the toxic chemical, which had been found in Amesbury.