Ex-spy poisoning in Britain totally unrelated to Russia, says Kremlin

Moscow says it had no role in the poisoning of a former spy in Britain, noting the case is not an issue for the Russian government.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia was absolutely not interested in pursuing the case of Sergei Skripal who was poisoned along with his daughter earlier this month. Peskov, however, confirmed Skripal was a Russian citizen.

“The Russian citizen you mention ... worked for one of Britain's special services, the incident took place on British territory, and it is in no way an issue for Russia, let alone for the Russian leadership,” Peskov said, insisting, “This is not our issue.”

Reports in British media have suggested that Russia was behind the poisoning of Skripal, 66, and his daughter, in the southern city of Salisbury on March 4.

The reports have likened the case to the death of Alexander Litvinenko, who was killed in 2006 after drinking a radioactive cup of tea. Britain openly blamed Russia in the case, claiming two assassins hired by Russia’s domestic intelligence agency FSB had poisoned Litvinenko.

Skripal was found guilty by a Russian tribunal of selling classified information to UK’s spy agency MI6 and was imprisoned in Russia in 2006. He was exchanged in a spy swap in 2010.

The Russian embassy in Britain has already protested against the media hype around Skripal’s case. It has demanded the British government thoroughly investigate the case.

The Kremlin’s statement came hours before British Prime Minister Theresa May was to make an announcement about the case after chairing a high-profile security meeting. If May decides to level allegations against Russia, that would seriously affect already strained relations between London and Moscow.

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