FILE IMAGE: news.met.police.uk
On September 6th, the UN Security Council held a meeting in New York to discuss the Skripal Case.
In response to UK accusations that Russia poisoned the ex-spy, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya, cited by Sputnik, said that the new data provided by London was based on the same repeated lies.
“To be frank we very much hoped that today we’d hear something convincing that sheds light on this mysterious incident, unfortunately, our expectations were not met once again,” Nebenzia said. “In today’s statement, we heard the same repeated lies.”
The representative also said that the UK has refused all Russian requests to co-operate on the investigation. “London needs this story for just one purpose: to unleash a disgusting anti-Russia hysteria and to involve other countries in this hysteria,” Nebenzia said.
He even mocked the investigation saying that “we have a joke in Russia about a ‘Joe-never-caught’, called so because nobody is trying to catch him. It seems that what we have been offered is two Joes-never-caught.”
He further commented on the nonsensical manner of the crime, which used an agent that sent a police officer unconscious within seconds, however Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia somehow survived for hours after the incident. He questioned an assassination attempt that left the assassination targets alive.
The UK Ambassador to the UN Karen Pierce said that London has “clear evidence” of Russia’s involvement in the Salisbury poisoning incident.
She also announced that the UK had obtained an arrest warrant for two Russian individuals who are allegedly responsible for the Skripal poisoning.
“This evidence is being sufficient for our independent prosecuting authorities to bring criminal charges in relation to Salisbury attack and to issue European arrest warrants,” Pierce said. “With respect to these two individuals, we have obtained a European arrest warrant and we will shortly issue an Interpol Red Notice.”
Karen Pierce also said that the UK might consider expanding sanctions on Russia in light of the new findings.
This all follows a development on September 5th in which the UK police press service revealed photos of alleged suspects in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter. The two men were said to be Russian nationals.
The men are thought to have used aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov when they travelled to the UK to allegedly poison the Skripals. The Sun reported that security experts are understood to have fingerprint and iris data for the two men – which means biometric technology should be able to unmask their real identities.
CCTV footage appeared to show the men “moments” before the poisoning on March 4th, which failed to kill the Skripals. The Sun cited police that the two men left the country hours later.
Police officers, searching their room on May 4 – almost two months after the attack in Salisbury – are said to have discovered minute traces of Novichok. Police said Novichok was brought into Britain in a Nina Ricci ‘Premier Jour’ perfume bottle with a specially made poison applicator.
On September 5th, British Prime Minister Theresa May told the Commons the suspects were members of the Russian Military Intelligence Service and were not carrying out a “rogue operation.”
“Based on a body of intelligence, the Government has concluded that the two individuals named by the police and CPS are officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU,” she said.
The British Prime Minister confirmed that Petrov and Boshirov have been charged with conspiracy to murder Sergei Skripal; the attempted murder of Sergei and Yulia Skripal and Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey.
In a joint statement with Scotland Yard, the CPS said: “There is sufficient evidence to charge two Russian nationals named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with offences including conspiracy to murder over the Salisbury nerve agent attack.”
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov once again denied any Russian role in the poisoning. “Russia had nothing to do with the events in Salisbury. Russia is not involved in these events in any way. We view any accusations against the Russian leadership to be unacceptable. Yesterday, Mrs. May spoke about the possible involvement of the top Russian leadership. We reiterate that neither the top leadership, nor the leadership of the ranks below, nor any official authorities had or have anything to do with the events in Salisbury. There can be no question about this, and any assumptions or accusations on this subject are inadmissible,” he said
Peskov added that Moscow has no new information about the attack because Britain has refused to share case files. “In order to check the identity [of the two men suspected by UK prosecutors], in order for us to have legal grounds to check their identities, we must receive a request to do so by the British side. … There is such a thing as customary practice. And from the very beginning, the Russian side offered cooperation on investigating the circumstances” of the poisoning, Peskov said.
As reported by the Sun, the breakthrough in the Skripal case came after cops collected 4,000 hours of CCTV and 2,300 exhibits since March.
