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Skripal poisoning case

British historians to recall ‘highly likely’ as slogan that will live in infamy— diplomat

British officials are "fanatically certain they are right and no sensible arguments are necessary", the Russian diplomat emphasized

Maria Zakharova Artem Geodakyan/TASS

Maria Zakharova

© Artem Geodakyan/TASS

MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Britain’s future historians and law experts will be recalling with shame the phrase "highly likely," which British officials now use in relation to the Skripal case, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday.

"One has an impression that the accusers, namely, British officials, are fanatically certain they are right and no sensible arguments are necessary. The notorious phrase ‘highly likely’ is quite enough. I am certain that future British historians, and of course, legal experts and lawyers will be recalling it with infamy," Zakharova said.

According to London, former Russian military intelligence (GRU) Colonel Sergei Skripal, 66, who had been convicted in Russia of spying for Great Britain and later swapped for Russian intelligence officers, and his daughter Yulia, 33, suffered the effects of an alleged nerve agent in the British city of Salisbury on March 4. Claiming that the substance used in the attack had been a Novichok-class nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union, London rushed to accuse Russia of being involved in the incident.

Read also

UK’s ‘highly likely’ argument on Russian involvement in Skripal case failed – envoy to UN

Moscow rejected all of the United Kingdom’s accusations, saying that neither the Soviet Union nor Russia ever had any program aimed at developing such a substance.

On September 5, British Prime Minister Theresa May informed the country’s parliament about the conclusions that investigators looking into the Salisbury incident had come to, saying that two Russians, believed to be GRU agents, were suspected of conspiracy to murder the Skripals. According to May, the assassination attempt was approved at "a senior level of the Russian state." The Metropolitan Police published the suspects’ photos, saying their names were Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

In an interview with Russia’s RT TV channel released on September 13, Petrov and Boshirov said they had visited Great Britain for tourist purposes. According to them, they are businessmen not linked to the GRU and have nothing to do with the Skripal case. The two men stressed they wanted the media and everyone else to leave them be.

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