UK: Evidence of Russia behind spy attack 'overwhelming'

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – The evidence showing that Russia was behind the nerve agent attack in Salisbury is “overwhelming,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Thursday.

Speaking to the BBC, Johnson said a sample of the nerve agent used in the attack that left former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in critical but stable condition will be submitted to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for examination.

Johnson’s remarks came a day after the U.K. expelled 23 Russian diplomats described by Prime Minister Theresa May as “undeclared intelligence officers.”

Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the incident but vowed to retaliate for Britain’s expulsion decision.

Johnson said the attack was a “measure of Russian brutality and recklessness” as it aimed to harm not only Skripal but also anybody in the vicinity, adding that it “shocked and appalled not just this country but also so many of our partners around the world.”

Stressing that he was “heartened” by the support for Britain from around the world, Johnson said “there is very little doubt in people’s minds that this is a signature by the Russian state” in “deliberately using Novichok nerve agent developed by Russia to punish a Russian defector – as they would see it – in the run up to Vladimir Putin’s election,” set for Sunday.

“There is a global disgust at what had happened,” he said.

Johnson also said that the Novichok nerve agent was developed by Russia alone during the Cold War, adding, “I am afraid the evidence is overwhelming that it is Russia.”

- Russia vows retaliation

Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found unconscious on a public bench on March 4 after visiting a restaurant and a pub. More than 20 people, including a police officer, were taken to hospital.

Meanwhile, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said retaliation for the U.K.’s decision to expel their diplomats will be coming soon, accusing Britain of not cooperating in the case.

Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday announced a series of measures, including the expulsion of Russian diplomats, the royal family and government ministers boycotting this summer’s World Cup in Russia, and revoking an invitation to Russia’s foreign minister.

She said Russia was “culpable” in the attack.

Russia missed a midnight Tuesday deadline by London to explain how the military-grade nerve agent Novichok was used in the attack.

“But their response has demonstrated complete disdain for the gravity of these events,” May said.

“They have provided no credible explanation that could suggest they lost control of their nerve agent,” she said.

The incident has been compared to the 2006 death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko after being poisoned with a radioactive substance in a central London hotel. Former KGB bodyguards identified as suspects in the murder denied any involvement.

Skripal was granted refuge in the U.K. following a 2010 spy exchange between the U.S. and Russia. Before the exchange, he was serving 13 years in prison for leaking information to British intelligence.