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MOSCOW, March 23 (Itar-Tass) - RIA Novosti. British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday that the poisoned ex-colonel of the GRU and the British spy, Sergei Skripal, were identifiable. This is evidenced by the statement of the official representative of the office of the British Prime Minister.

Earlier, May met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who presented the first results of the incident investigation.

"She stated the positive identification of a chemical substance by leading scientists in Porton Down used as part of the" Novice "group, the document says.

The British prime minister also said that Russia had previously produced this substance.

In addition, May's office reported that Berlin and Paris confirmed that they consider Moscow guilty of poisoning and the leaders of Germany and France agreed to maintain contact in the coming days.

The Poisoning of Skripal

On March 4, the former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious in the center of the British Salisbury, after which both were hospitalized with poisoning. The violin was in Britain in 2010 after being pardoned for treason. He and two other Russians were exchanged for ten people detained in the US, including Anna Chapman.

London claims that Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a substance allegedly developed in the USSR as part of the "Novice" project. At the same time, in the Soviet Union there was no program with this name - numbers were used to designate the system. The name "Beginner" spread by foreign media from the Soviet scientist Vila Mirzayanov, who had no relation to the development of chemical weapons.

Despite unfounded accusations of Russia's involvement in the poisoning of the ex-GRU officer, the British authorities took measures within the framework of the "Skripal case" and sent 23 Russian diplomats and announced the freezing of bilateral contacts at a high level. In turn, Moscow applied mirror measures: 23 employees of the British diplomatic mission were declared persona non grata, the permission to open a consulate in St. Petersburg was withdrawn. Also, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the termination of the work of the British Council.

London also called on other countries to support the pressure on Russia. The Prime Minister of Great Britain has promised to raise the issue of the poisoning of Skripal at the summit in Brussels.

On Thursday, EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Federica Magerini said that the leaders of the EU countries intend to support London.

The reaction of Russia

Uncritical accusations of Great Britain did not remain without attention of Russian politicians.

So in the Federation Council noted that the British prime minister's efforts are aimed at worsening relations with Russia. In the opinion of the deputy head of the Council of Foreign Affairs, Vladimir Jabarov, Britain has nothing to lose, and for other European countries the deterioration of relations with Russia will only be harmful.

"All the events with poisonings and killings for some reason are happening in the UK Perhaps the British special services and the police need to consider the question of why Russian citizens die there, and why this is then created a play that does not end with any serious proceedings - so , make a noise, so that the sediment remains, "- said the senator.

In turn, the State Duma was not surprised at May's plans to convince the countries of Europe to send Russian diplomats.

"In this chain of absurdity, starting with the appointment of the perpetrators without investigations, this is a logical step." They will continue this performance, which was invented overseas, "said the deputy, Alexander Yushchenko.

However, according to the politician, the attitude of the European Union to Russia is ambiguous. Some European countries talk about the fallacy of sanctions against Russia.

"And there are satellite countries that do not have their own personal position, and will do as they are ordered by curators," Yuschenk concluded, adding that "there will be a serious struggle."

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry held a briefing on the situation surrounding the poisoning of Skripal. More than 140 representatives of foreign diplomatic missions were accredited at the event, while the British ambassador ignored the meeting.

In the department, the poisoning of Skripal was called a terrorist act against the Russians.

"We are told nothing about a" Novice, "about an attack by Russia on Britain, I repeat, two Russian citizens have been attacked in the UK," said the Director of the Department for Nonproliferation and Control over arms of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Ermakov.

Also, the department called the incident "a grossly falsified, unlawful adventure," unprofitable and unacceptable for Russia.

In addition, the Kremlin was amazed that the accusations against Russia were heard only a couple of hours after the incident, despite the fact that even a preliminary analysis of the toxic agent takes about three weeks. In addition, according to the spokesman of Russian President Dmitry Peskov, Sergei Skripal did not pose a threat to Russia, otherwise it would not have been exchanged in principle.

Link: https://ria.ru/world/20180323/1517077135.html