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UK tabloid’s report on Skripal case tries to link Salisbury case with Russia - embassy

Russian Embassy in London
 EPA-EFE/ANDY RAIN
Russian Embassy in London
© EPA-EFE/ANDY RAIN

LONDON, July 3. /TASS/. The latest publication by The Sun tabloid about alleged suspects in the Salisbury case is vaguely sourced and is intended to draw a connection between the incident and Russia, the Russian embassy in London said on Tuesday.

"Russia is as interested in establishing the perpetrators of this crime against Russian citizens as the United Kingdom is. From this point of view, we could only welcome the fact that the suspects have been designated. However, it is difficult for us to take seriously a newspaper publication which is traditionally based on vague sources and contains numerous assumptions,’ the embassy said in a statement.

"All information about the Salilsbury incident is being disseminated by the media in the form of leaks and hoaxes, which cannot be verified," the statement reads. "It appears that someone here is trying to draw a link between the Salisbury incident and Russia by all means right and wrong. They disseminate "plausible explanations," intended to create the illusion of Russia’s involvement in the Salisbury incident among the audience in the UK and worldwide," the statement reads.

The Russian diplomat mission reiterated that "the British side keeps rejecting any kind of cooperation with Russia."

"We are convinced that sooner or later the motives behind the incumbent government’s policies will be revealed. However, regardless of the official London’s motives, the international law and the United Kingdom’s obligations under it remain in force, including with regard to consular conventions and agreements on mutual legal assistance," the embassy statement reads.

What the paper wrote

The Sun reported on Monday, citing unnamed Scotland Yard sources, that the UK police had identified two people, who left the United Kingdom within 24 hours after the attack, as suspects in the case.

The police are convinced they had made "a huge breakthrough," the paper says.

According to the article, the two individuals, whose names were not disclosed, are currently staying on the Russian territory.

Scotland Yard officials refused to comment on the report, citing investigation purposes.

Skripal case

Former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, 66, who had been earlier sentenced in Russia for spying for the UK, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a bench near a shopping center in Salisbury, UK on March 4. Police said they had been exposed to a nerve agent.

After the incident, the British media reported the two had been in critical conditions, with chances for survival next to zero. However both soon began to recover. Yulia was released from hospital on April 10 and her father was reportedly discharged on May 18.

Following the incident, London claimed that the toxin of Novichok-class had been allegedly developed in Russia. With that, the UK rushed to accuse Russia of being involved, while failing to produce any evidence. Moscow refuted the accusations that it had participated in the incident and points out that neither the Soviet Union nor Russia have ever done research into that toxic chemical.