The "investigations" of the British press about the Russian diplomat Alexander Yakovenko should be considered as revenge. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

“The anniversary of Salisbury is marked by British tabloid newspapers with dignity and, as always, direction. Journalists there do not eat their porridge for nothing - the supreme Soviet-Russian spy was found, and it turned out to be ... Alexander Yakovenko, our ambassador in London, ”Zakharova wrote on Facebook.

On the eve of the British newspaper The Mail on Sunday published an "investigation", which states that the diplomat Alexander Yakovenko allegedly was an agent of Soviet intelligence in the 1980s. Based on these materials, members of the British Parliament appealed to the Foreign Ministry of their country with a request to study the "findings" of journalists.

Zakharova drew attention to the fact that the “investigation” of the British media is repelled by the work of Yakovenko on the permanent mission to the UN in New York and his departure during the expulsion of agents of the KGB and the USA.

“In principle, everything converges. If you do not take into account that in New York, Alexander Yakovenko worked for five years and completed a business trip within the prescribed period, ”Zakharova said.

An official spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry also spoke about awarding Yakovenko with the Alexander Nevsky Order, which British journalists called “military.”

“Another Permanent Representative to the EU, Chizhov, was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky on the same day, and recently Ambassador Razov, Deputy Foreign Minister Meshkov and Grushko, and so on were awarded to him ... And why? Because historically Alexander Nevsky was considered the patron saint of national diplomacy. If the British journalists really believe the medal of the Order for Services to the Fatherland is a military award, I have no words at all, ”Zakharova stressed.

  • Alexander Yakovenko
  • RIA News
  • © Alex McNaughton

“As if on cue, frank fakes are published that should distract from the main question: what happened in Salisbury on March 4, 2018? May's government is more and more silent. And the Russian Embassy issues a report on inconsistencies in British stuffing, ”Zakharova concluded.

In the Russian embassy in the UK, the actions of the British press were called “slanderous attack”.

“On the anniversary of the incident, instead of the results of the investigation, we witnessed an unprecedented slanderous attack in the British press on the embassy and personally on the ambassador. Moreover, it was well timed in time. All this cannot but cause regret, ”the message of the embassy says.

The Russian side called on the British government "to remove the curtain of secrecy from the investigation, to give an opportunity to meet with Russian citizens and to stop the rough anti-Russian campaign in the British press."

In turn, Yakovenko himself expects an official apology for the slander from Mail on Sunday. About this reports TASS with reference to a copy of the letter to the chief editor.

“The information spread by your newspaper that Ambassador A. V. Yakovenko, while working at the Russian Permanent Mission in New York, was sent out for espionage, does not correspond to reality. A.V. Yakovenko worked at the UN Permanent Mission from 1981 to 1986, after which he left due to the expiration of the trip. Information about his expulsion is a gross lie. <...> Given the above, the ambassador is waiting for your apologies, ”the letter says.

"The British solve a complex of issues"

The leading representatives of the political establishment in Britain have a request to divert attention from the problems of British society, Natalya Eryomina, associate professor of European studies at the Faculty of International Relations of SPSU, said in an interview with RT. In her opinion, on the eve of difficult decisions it is necessary to make a “shake-up”, and for British society, Russia is traditionally perceived as a military-political, strategic opponent.

“A year has passed - there is no news, we do not see Skripal himself, they don’t show any data to the society. To show that there is some kind of work, you need to dig further and deeper, ”said Yeremina.

According to the expert, such “investigations” are a convenient factor for London to present itself as an injured party, draw attention to itself and ensure more favorable conditions in the negotiation process.

“Using the Russian rhetoric, the British solve a range of issues. In this regard, their actions are similar to those that we observe in the American political establishment, ”said the expert.

“Russia is the country that was appointed to be responsible, guilty for all that they cannot do for themselves,” concluded Yeremina.

"Unthinkable Probabilities"

In addition, the theme of the "Russian trace" appeared in the newspaper The Mirror, which published a letter from the son of the victim of the incident in British Amesbury. The young man, who signed the name Evan Hope, said the publication that he feels "loyal" to the government of the country.

“I’m afraid that we will never get justice for mom, and I feel betrayed and abandoned by the government,” said the young man. “We have heard nothing from Theresa May or the government: no phone call, no letter, nothing.”

In the diplomatic mission they stressed that they are interested in a detailed investigation of the incident and added that they are ready to meet with Evan Hope to try to answer all interesting questions regarding the Russian official position.

Recall, July 4, 2018 in the media there were reports that in the British Amesbury, two people suffered, presumably due to exposure to an unknown substance. One of the victims, Don Sturgess, subsequently died in hospital. British police associate the Amesbury incident with the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March 2018 in another British city of Salisbury.

On March 4, 2018, the ex-Colonel of the GRU, Sergey Skrypal, and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious near the house in Salisbury. Britain laid the responsibility for the incident on Russia, but London did not provide evidence. The current situation led to a diplomatic scandal, as a result, a number of foreign states expelled employees of Russian diplomatic missions.

  • Investigators in protective suits in the English city of Amesbury on July 6, 2018.
  • © Chris J Ratcliffe / AFP

Subsequently, Scotland Yard distributed photographs of two Russians whom London suspects of attempting to carry on Skripale - Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. No evidence of their involvement in the poisoning was also provided. In an interview with RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, Petrov and Boshirov themselves were told that they had nothing to do with the Crypts, and they were passing through Salisbury.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that it does not trust the conclusions of London, since the British side does not allow representatives of the Russian law enforcement agencies to investigate and keeps Skripale in isolation.

Such publications by the British serve the purpose of shaping public opinion, said Bohdan Bezpalko, a member of the Council for Interethnic Relations under the President of Russia.

“All the versions that were previously put forward by the British: no matter who, the media or even the officials, they repelled from some unbelievable probabilities, no evidence was given - all this is“ highly likes, ”he continued.

He noted that the current situation around Brexit and lack of confidence in Prime Minister Theresa May is a good time for such publications.

“Creaking is a very convenient occasion to divert public opinion from this,” the expert concluded.