LONDON, March 30. /TASS/. A cousin of Yulia Skripal, who was exposed to a nerve agent in the British city of Salisbury, wishes to visit Great Britain, the Russian embassy in London said in a statement on Friday.
"Today the embassy once again contacted Viktoria Skripal, Sergei Skripal’s niece. After learning that Yulia Skripal is improving, Viktoria expressed a wish to come to London and visit her cousin. We believe that for humanitarian reasons, the British authorities will promptly issue her a visa," the statement reads.
BBC reported on Thursday that Yulia was "conscious and talking." Doctors confirmed that she was "rapidly improving" and was no longer in critical condition. At the same time, her father Sergei Skripal remains in critical but stable condition.
Skripal case
On March 4, former Russian military intelligence (GRU) Colonel Sergei Skripal, who had been convicted in Russia of spying for Great Britain and exchanged for Russian intelligence officers, and his daughter Yulia suffered the effects of a nerve agent in the British city of Salisbury.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said the substance used in the attack had been a Novichok-class nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union. London expelled 23 Russian diplomats and announced other restrictive measures against Moscow.
Moscow rejected all of the United Kingdom’s accusations, saying that a program aimed at developing such a substance had existed neither in the Soviet Union nor in Russia. In retaliation to the UK’s steps, 23 British diplomats were expelled, the British consulate general in the city of St. Petersburg was closed and the British Council had to shut down its operations in Russia.
At the same time, Moscow pointed out that further measures could be taken "should there be any more hostile actions against Russia."