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Russian Embassy in London asks for consular access to ex-spy’s daughter

On March 4, former Russian military intelligence Colonel Sergey Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Julia suffered from the effects of a nerve agent

MOSCOW, March 14. /TASS/. The Russian Embassy in London requests consular access to daughter of former Russian military intelligence Colonel Sergey Skripal, Yulia, who is a Russian citizen, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry informed TASS on Wednesday.

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"The Russian Embassy to the UK is asking for consular access to Sergey Skripal’s daughter," the source said.

On March 4, former Russian military intelligence (GRU) Colonel Sergey Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Julia suffered from the effects of a nerve agent. They were found unconscious on a bench near a shopping center in Salisbury. Both are currently in hospital in critical condition.

In 2004, Russia’s Federal Security Service (the FSB) arrested Skripal and, later on, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for high treason. Six years later, the former colonel was handed over to the US as part of a swap deal involving espionage suspects. Later that same year, Skripal settled down in Britain.

Addressing the House of Commons on March 12, UK Prime Minister Theresa May accused Russia of being involved in Skripal’s poisoning.The prime minister described the incident with Skripal as Russia’s "indiscriminate" and "reckless" attack against the UK. According to May, "Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia."

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on March 13 that Moscow has nothing to do with the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter. He also noted that Russia had received no requests from Britain on the substance allegedly used during the Salisbury incident.

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