Kremlin says no clear proof Russian Federation behind Skripal attack - RIA
- by Andrea Singleton
- in Global
- — Mar 18, 2018
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced said on Saturday morning that it would expel 23 British diplomats in a like-for-like retaliation to British measures, saying the diplomatic representatives of the British Embassy in Moscow should leave Russia within a week. It also ordered the closure of the British Council, a public information and educational center, in Russian Federation, and halted the reopening of a British consulate in St. Petersburg.
"Russia's response doesn't change the facts of the matter - the attempted assassination of two people on British soil, for which there is no alternative conclusion other than that the Russian State was culpable", the Ministry said.
The Russian ministry also warned Britain that it "retains the right to take other answering measures" in response to any "further unfriendly actions".
The order came days after Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain expelled the same number of Russian diplomats and called off high-level contacts between the two governments.
The Skripals remain in a critical condition following the attack that also poisoned a British police officer.
The British Government took their silence as an admission of guilt, and expelled 23 Russians from the country.
London and its allies have blamed Moscow for the attack and on Friday, Britain directly implicated Putin himself, unleashing the Kremlin's fury.
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Shortly after the attack, Russia offered their collaboration to investigate the case and requested the United Kingdom government access to the compound used in the attack so that Russian experts could test it in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention, to which both parties have adhered.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier this week that Moscow was "highly likely" behind the attempt to murder a former spy residing in the UK by using a military grade nerve agent of Novichok type, developed in the Soviet Union. Russian officials have increasingly begun suggesting the attack could have been staged by Britain itself.
Speaking on Russia-24 television, Zakharova on Saturday linked Britain's angry reaction to the war in Syria.
The father-daughter are still critically ill.
Meanwhile, U.K. police have also opened a murder investigation in the death of another Russian exile living in Britain.
Russian investigators said on Friday they had opened a criminal investigation into the attempted murder of Yulia Skripal and offered to cooperate with British authorities.
"Our position regarding the election of the Russian president in the annexed Crimea is as follows: these elections are illegal, unfair and we will not assist Russia in holding elections in our territory".
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