All news

Russian ambassador summoned to Czech Foreign Ministry over Skripal case

The Czech defense and foreign ministers said that statements the nerve gas Novichok might have Czech origin were groundless

MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. Russia’s ambassador has been summoned to the Czech Foreign Ministry following Russia’s statement about possible Czech origin of the nerve gas that according to British claims was used in the Salisbury incident, as follows from a tweet by the Czech Foreign Ministry.

On March 17 Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the Rossiya-24 television news channel that the nerve gas Britain was referring to as Novichok "most likely came from the countries that had been conducting intensive research into this group of chemicals since the late 1990s - Britain, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Sweden."

"As far as the United States, the question remains," she said.

Czech defense and foreign ministers, Karla Slechtova and Martin Stropnicky, later said that statements the nerve gas Novichok might have Czech origin were groundless.