Kremlin denies Russia’s involvement in ex-spy’s poisoning

MOSCOW, SEPT. 6 — The Kremlin reiterated Thursday that Russia was not involved in the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain’s Salisbury in March, rejecting Britain’s latest accusation.
“Neither the top leadership of Russia, nor the leadership of lower ranks … had anything to do with the events in Salisbury. There can be no talk about that,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.
On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said in an official statement that the British police and intelligence agencies have identified two Russian nationals they believe were responsible for the March attack.
Peskov recalled that Russia offered Britain cooperation in the investigation into the Skripal case from the very beginning, but Britain declined to accept it.
Russia could only regret London’s reluctance to interact with Moscow, Peskov said.
At the same time, he said that Moscow could take action against the suspects only upon receiving an “appropriate request from the British side on the basis of the existing bilateral and multilateral legislation on the provision of legal assistance.”
Media publications and statements in the British parliament cannot be considered as such a request, Peskov said.
The Skripal case triggered a diplomatic crisis with Russia and Western countries mutually expelling a large number of diplomats. The United States also imposed massive economic sanctions against Russia over the incident.
Russia has been denying any involvement in the case. – XINHUA