Prime Minister Boris Jonhson took advantage of his first meeting Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to warn him that the "position of the United Kingdom" on the Skripal affair "had not changed", warning him not to "Repeat such an attack" on British soil.
In an interview on the sidelines of an international conference on Syria in Berlin, Boris Johnson described the attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal as "the reckless use of chemical weapons and a brazen attempt to assassinate innocent people on British soil, "said his services in a statement.
Arrest warrant issued against two Russians
On March 4, 2018, the former Russian double agent and his daughter Ioulia were found unconscious in a shopping center in Salisbury (south of England) and hospitalized in serious condition. London had accused Moscow of being behind this poisoning at Novitchok, a powerful Soviet-style innervating agent, in retaliation for its collaboration with the British intelligence services.
An arrest warrant had been issued against two Russians suspected of having carried out the attack and presented as Russian military intelligence (GRU), but Russia still rejects these accusations, and its diplomatic relations with London have deteriorated.
"Destabilizing activities"
Boris Johnson told Vladimir Putin that they "both have the responsibility of dealing with international security issues, notably concerning Libya, Syria, Iraq and Iran", but told him that the ties between Moscow and London would not return to normal until Russia put an end to its "destabilizing activities". "There will be no normalization of our bilateral relationship until Russia has put an end to its destabilizing activities which threaten the United Kingdom and our allies, as well as jeopardize the security of our citizens and our collective security", said Boris Johnson.
Last June, an independent investigation by the Bellingcat investigation site and the BBC claimed to have enough evidence to prove that the operation had been coordinated by a GRU officer from a London hideout.
Sergei Skripal and his daughter were released in the months following their hospitalization, but their poisoning caused a collateral victim: a woman who died after having sprinkled what she thought was a perfume, contained in a bottle picked up by her companion.
World
Skripal case: London accuses Vladimir Putin by name
World
Skripal case: For the Kremlin, it is "difficult to disentangle the true from the false"
- Diplomacy
- Vladimir Poutine
- London
- UK
- Sergei Skripal
- Moscow
- Russia
- Boris Johnson
- World