LONDON, June 28. /TASS/. The British authorities continue to dodge Moscow’s questions about the whereabouts and condition of former Russian military intelligence (GRU) officer Sergey Skripal, convicted in Russia of high treason, and his daughter Yulia, Moscow’s Ambassador to London Andrey Kelin told TASS.
On June 22, the Skripals’ lawyer Jack Holborn said at a hearing into the 2018 death of British citizen Dawn Sturgess that his clients were unwilling to attend the inquiry, which is due to begin on October 14.
"Speculations have surfaced in the media about whether the Skripals will attend the October 14 inquiry. The answer is not clear as the issue remains in limbo," Kelin noted. "Although we have sent a lot of requests to the Foreign Office regarding the fate of both Yulia and Sergey Skripal, we received only one response, a few months ago. It largely said that Yulia had the opportunity to contact the embassy but did not wish to do so. As for Sergey Skripal, the question remained unanswered," the diplomat explained.
"However, we will keep trying to get information from the British authorities about his health and legal status, as well as about the circumstances of what happened. I cannot say how the hearings will impact the substance of the issue because this process is being dragged out and it’s not clear yet how it will end," the Russian envoy added.
Former Russian military intelligence Colonel Sergey Skripal, who had been convicted in Russia of spying for Great Britain and later swapped for Russian intelligence officers, and his daughter Yulia, were exposed to an alleged nerve agent in the British city of Salisbury on March 4, 2018. On July 4, 2018, the British police reported an incident in the town of Amesbury where two people had been taken to the hospital in critical condition after being affected by an unidentified substance. London’s Metropolitan Police later confirmed that the man and the woman had been poisoned with the same nerve agent that had been used on the Skripals. The woman - 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess - died on July 8, while her partner - 45-year-old Charlie Rowley - survived.
London claims that the Russian government was involved in the Skripal poisoning, using the A234 nerve agent, while Sturgess became an accidental victim after getting a bottle that Rowley had collected in a park thinking it contained perfume. Moscow strongly rejected the allegations. The Russian Foreign Ministry has sent dozens of diplomatic notes to the British Foreign Office, demanding that London provide Moscow with access to the investigation and the affected Russian nationals, as well as requesting legal assistance and offering cooperation, particularly in a joint probe.