SOME NERVE
Russia demands access to nerve agent used in Salisbury before responding to Theresa May’s midnight ultimatum as foreign minister says Moscow ‘not to blame’ for Sergei Skripal poisoning
RUSSIA is demanding access to the nerve agent used in Salisbury before it responds to Theresa May’s midnight ultimatum to explain their involvement.
Its foreign minister says Moscow “is not to blame” for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal last Sunday, after the Prime Minister said it was “highly likely” the ex-MI6 double agent and his daughter Yulia were attacked with a Russian-produced toxin called Novichok.
8
8
Sergey Lavrov said the British government had refused to provide materials used in the incident so the Kremlin could test them as he brushed off Mrs May’s strong words in the Commons yesterday and insisted Russia has no involvement in the incident.
He said London would be "better off" complying with its international obligations "before putting forward ultimatums."
"As soon as the rumours came up that the poisoning of Skripal involved a Russia-produced agent, which almost the entire English leadership has been fanning up, we sent an official request for access to this compound so that our experts could test it in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.”
Mr Lavrov said so far the request has been ignored by Britain, and they would not be replying unless it did, adding that the Chemical Weapons Convention gives the country that produces the banned substance 10 days to respond.
8
Later on the UK's Russian embassy Twitter page doubled down on the demands.
It said: "Moscow will not respond to London’s ultimatum until it receives samples of the chemical substance to which the UK investigators are referring."
And it threatened to respond to any "punitive" measures Britain takes.
The embassy claimed the incident "appears to be yet another crooked attempt by the UK authorities to discredit Russia."
The PM revealed the chemical weapon used was designed by Russian scientists in the 1980s to kill thousands on the battlefield.
Stunned MPs shouted “shame” in the chamber as she said its “indiscriminate” use in targeting the former Russian spy “put the lives of innocent civilians at risk”.
Her comments came as the White House, and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described the scandal as an "outrage" and vowed to stick by Britain.
But when asked directly by BBC reporter Steve Rosenberg if Russia was behind the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, its President Vladimir Putin was pictured smirking.
He replied "We are dealing with agriculture here, as you see, to create conditions for people's lives.
"And you talk to me about some tragedies. First, get to the bottom of it there and then we'll discuss this."
8
8
But Mrs May concluded there were only “two plausible explanations” for what happened, saying: “Either this was a direct act by the Russian State against our country.
“Or the Russian government lost control of this potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others.”
The PM also insisted Moscow must “immediately provide full and complete disclosure” of its Novichok nerve gas programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
If Vladimir Putin’s ambassador fails to explain what happened to its lethal nerve agent stock before midnight tonight, Mrs May said she will declare it “an unlawful use of force” by Russia against the UK.
What we know so far:
- Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on Sunday
- Theresa May accused Russia of poisoning Skripal using deadly nerve agent Novichok and has vowed revenge
- She gave Russians until midnight tonight to give us an explanation for what happened, or we will take action
- Putin laughed off suggestions Russia was involved, as other officials accused Britain of running a circus show and acting like Hitler
- Amber Rudd said police and MI5 would reopen investigations into other suspicious deaths in the UK
- The British ambassador in Moscow has been 'summoned to the Kremlin' over the case
- Russia has demanded access to the nerve agent gas used in Salisbury before responding to the PM's ultimatum
- Cops cordoned off Skripal's house and the grave of his wife and son fearing others could be exposed to the poison
- 500 people were told to wash their clothes, phones, and glasses after possibly coming into contact with the nerve agent
8
8
8
5 WAYS TO HIT BACK
1 — Kick out Russian diplomats: David Cameron did this after Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in 2006. But the Kremlin would probably retaliate.
2 — Strip Russian media of its right to broadcast in the UK: PM could ask Ofcom to declare channels such as RT — formerly Russia Today — not fit to hold a licence.
3 — Stay away from World Cup in Russia: EU sport officials could be urged to boycott event, but this would not involve footballers.
4 — Toughen up sanctions: The Government could amend the sanctions and anti-money laundering bill to impose firmer rulings against human rights abusers.
5 — Freeze assets of Russian oligarchs: But this might hit as many Putin opponents as allies.
PM Theresa May confirms that Russia is 'highly likely' to have carried out the attack on former spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury using military-grade nerve agent
MOST READ IN POLITICS
And Russia's Foreign Ministry has retaliated by summoning the British Ambassador in Moscow Laurie Bristow to answer their questions.
Yesterday its spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded to Mrs May’s statement by saying: "It is a circus show in the British Parliament."
"The conclusion is obvious, it's another political information campaign, based on a provocation."
What is Novichok and was the nerve agent used to poison ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal?
Novichok - the Russian for newcomer or newbie - is the name for a series of nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 80s.
They are said to be the deadliest nerve agents ever created and reported to be five times more potent than the notorious VX gas.
It is made of two relatively harmless materials which become fatal when mixed together, making it easier to transport under the radar.
"It is designed to be undetectable for any standard chemical security testing, " Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told the Express.
Novichok agents, dispersed as an ultra-fine powder rather than vapour, belong to the class of inhibitors called "organophosphate acetylcholinesterase".
They prevent the normal breakdown of a neurotransmitter acetylcholine which, when it builds up, causes muscles to contract involuntarily.
Because the victim's heart and diaphragm aren't functioning properly, this leads to respiratory and cardiac arrest.
Those affected usually die from total heart failure or suffocation as copious fluid secretions fill their lungs.
But even if they don't die from the nerve agent, the substance can also cause permanent nerve damage, leaving victims permanently disabled, Russian scientists have said.
Topics