Alwaght- The scandal surrounding the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal could have been staged by the US and Britain, Russian officials have suggested.
Head of the Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department at the Russian Defense Ministry Vladimir Yermakov said at a briefing for foreign ambassadors that the Skripal case could have been staged by the US, the state with the largest chemical weapons arsenal.
"It is likely that this could have been orchestrated from across the pond. It is no secret to anyone that the UK’s closest partner (the US) is the only state officially keeping the largest arsenals of chemical weapons in the world," he pointed out.
"Of course, they are not comfortable with the mounting criticism coming from sensible parties in the [Chemical Weapons] Convention], that’s why they have gotten riled up," the diplomat went on to say. "Maybe this is the reason behind all this unseemly commotion around Salisbury?" he asked.
Yermakov said Russia has absolutely no complicity in the poisoning. According to him, "it is becoming ever more obvious" that the attack on the Skripals in Salisbury "is most likely a new grossly falsified and unlawful provocation."
Britain lied on Iraq
"At the same time, Great Britain has quite a different track record," the senior diplomat said, adding that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair had openly admitted his lies about the situation around Iraq.
"Even though he admitted that, several hundred thousand innocent Iraqi citizens were killed. And no one was held responsible for that," Yermakov said.
"One only has to guess who and for what purpose is now trying to plunge Great Britain into a new dirty and again losing venture for London from the very outset against Russia this time,’ the high-ranking diplomat said.
The senior Russian diplomat said it was absurd to demand some explanations from Russia on the Skripal case.
"In this situation, Russia by definition does not owe anything to anyone and surely cannot bear responsibility for the acts or the idleness of the British authorities on their own territory," he stressed.
Act of terror against Russia
Moscow considers the Salisbury attack as an act of terror against Russian citizens carried out on the UK territory, he stressed.
"It once again confirms how different our assessments and approaches are. We say that two Russian citizens were attacked on the UK territory, so provide us with all the information about the attack that we believe to be an act of terror against Russian citizens carried out on the UK territory," he said, addressing a British diplomat.
Russia destroyed all chemical weapons stockpiles
Russia has destroyed its chemical weapons stockpiles, the issue closed once and for all, Yermakov said.
"On September 27, 2017, the OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) officially confirmed that Russia had completed the destruction of its chemical weapons stockpiles ahead of time," he said. "For us, this issue is closed once and for all. British politicians’ unscrupulous attempts to cause disarray in this noble effort does little credit to them, frankly speaking," Yermakov added.
"It only has to be solved who stood behind this and which goals pursued. Only one thing is clear that Russia has absolutely no complicity in this at least for one simple reason: such an act is simply inadmissible and it is disadvantageous for us by all parameters," Yermakov said.
US maintains chemical weapons stockpiles
Meanwhile, the commander of Russia's Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops, Major General Igor Kirillov said the US has not yet destroyed its arsenal of chemical weapons so the US’ accusations appear cynical.
"The US’ accusations against us look especially cynical since they have failed to destroy their stockpile of chemical weapons citing shortage of money," Kirillov told foreign ambassadors at a briefing on the Skripal case.
The Skripal case
Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with a nerve agent on March 4 and found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, UK. Both of them have been hospitalized and are in critical condition.
British authorities blamed Russia for the poisoning, but failed to provide any evidence to support their accusations. Russia refuted all of London’s allegations. With that, UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats and the suspension of high-level bilateral contacts. On Saturday, in response to London’s moves, the Russian Foreign Ministry declared 23 British diplomats persona-non-grata and would expel them within a week, close the British consulate general in St. Petersburg, and terminate the British Council’s activities in Russia.
