MOSCOW, March 21./TASS/. Ex-Colonel Sergei Skripal from Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate has both Russian and British citizenship, Russian Ambassador in London Alexander Yakovenko told the ’60 Minutes’ program on Rossiya-1 television channel on Wednesday.
"I must make it clear: Sergei Skripal has dual citizenship - Russian and British. Britons said that as he has British citizenship, they will be reporting nothing on his condition to us," the diplomat said.
Meanwhile, he said information about Skripal and his daughter Yulia is scarce. "They say she is in critical condition. But unfortunately, Britons have made the whole process secret. It has been 16 days since the incident, and we have no information on either their whereabouts, or their condition, we have no possibility to speak to medics," Yakovenko said.
The diplomat said nobody has seen any photos of Skripal after the incident. "It is also unclear whether they are in Salisbury," the ambassador added.
Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with a nerve agent on March 4 and found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, UK. Both of them were hospitalized and are in critical condition.
British authorities blamed Russia for the poisoning, but failed to provide any evidence to support their accusations. Russia responded by refuting all of London’s allegations. With that, UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats and the suspension of high-level bilateral contacts. On Saturday, in response to London’s moves, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Russia had declared 23 British diplomats personae-non-gratae and would expel them within a week, close the British consulate general in St. Petersburg, and terminate the British Council’s activity in Russia.