Rare statement by President Putin amid the "storm" of the former spy case

President Vladimir Putin. Photo: RT

"Tomorrow we will start a session with the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to analyze the issue in detail. We have prepared at least 20 questions for discussion. We hope that the discussion will put an end to this issue," President Putin said in Ankara at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday, April 3.

The OPCW Council consists of 41 members, including representatives from Russia and the UK. Russian diplomats have expressed their desire to participate in the testing of the suspected poison used in the Skripal case, and have said they will not accept the results if the testing is carried out only at OPCW laboratories without Moscow's participation.

In rare comments on the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a nerve agent in the English city of Salisbury on March 4, President Putin said he was overwhelmed by how quickly the incident turned into a massive attack on Russia, even though exact information about the origin of the poison has not been released.

“It is surprising that an anti-Russian campaign is being launched so quickly,” President Putin said.

Former spy Sergei Skripal. Photo: BBC

Just hours after the former Russian spy and his daughter were found unconscious outside a shopping centre in Salisbury, the British government made its first accusations against Russia. Days later, Britain began imposing a series of sanctions and expelling Russian diplomats, accusing Moscow of being “highly likely” to be behind the attack on the Skripals.

While the UK has continued to blame Russia, investigators in the UK have so far failed to come to any definitive conclusions or present concrete evidence that Russia was the “culprit” of this poisoning. Even the head of the chemical laboratory at the Porton Down base in the UK admitted that scientists could not determine that the nerve agent used in the Skripal case originated from Russia.

“I learned about this incident through media reports. I just want to add that according to international experts, about 20 countries in the world can produce similar nerve agents,” Putin said.

Russia has repeatedly asked Britain to provide Moscow with evidence, including samples of the suspected poison, and to allow Russia to participate in an official investigation into the incident. President Putin reiterated this request yesterday.

“We want to participate in a comprehensive investigation. We want to be allowed to participate in the investigation and we need to be provided with relevant documents because this case involves Russian citizens,” Mr. Putin stressed.

Relations between Russia and the UK have been strained in recent weeks, with both sides blaming each other. Hundreds of diplomats have been expelled and several consulates have been closed in a standoff that has been likened to the Cold War between Moscow and the West.