Russian President Vladimir Putin
President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia knew the real identity of two men accused by British prosecutors of trying to murder former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Britain.
British prosecutors last week identified two Russians who they said were operating under aliases - Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - who they said had tried to murder the Skripals with a military-grade nerve agent in England.
Putin, speaking at an economic forum in the Russian port city of Vladivostok, said Russia had found the two men, that they were civilians, and there was nothing special or criminal about them and that he hoped they would come forward and tell the world their own story.
Russia needs data to confirm or deny the identification of suspects in the Salisbury Novichok attack, the country’s presidential spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday."It is necessary to establish who these people are, whether there are such citizens. It's a matter of verification. We want to do this as quickly and efficiently as possible, so we again appeal to the U.K. to help identify these persons, since the information [about the suspects] has been published," Zakharova said at a news conference.On Wednesday, British authorities named two Russian national as the suspects of Salisbury nerve-agent attack that targeted former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal earlier this year.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are wanted for conspiracy to murder Sergei Skripal and the attempted murder of Yulia Skripal and police officer Nick Bailey.Skripal and his daughter were admitted to a hospital after being found unconscious on March 4 in Salisbury. They were both since discharged from the Salisbury District Hospital.Police officer Nick Bailey, who was among the first to respond to the incident, also received treatment after being poisoned.Sergei Skripal was a granted refuge in the U.K. following a 2010 spy exchange between the U.S. and Russia. Before the exchange, he had been serving a 13-year prison term for leaking information to the British intelligence.Russians named in spy poisoning travelled widely in EuropeKremlin calls British allegations in spy poisoning unacceptableBritain summons Russia's charge d'affaires in London over Skripal affairKremlin says puzzled by UK's decision to name Skripal case suspects
Russia calls on UK to help identify poisoning suspects
People using the same passports as two men accused by Britain of the attempted murder of a former Russian spy and his daughter travelled widely in Europe and made a previous trip to Britain, according to an online Russian news outlet.Russian citizens identified as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were charged in absentia by Britain on Wednesday with trying to murder Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a military-grade nerve agent in England.British authorities have said the men were Russian military intelligence agents travelling with genuine Russian passports, but under aliases.The Kremlin denied that Russia had been in any way involved in the poisoning, describing British accusations that an attack had been approved by senior Russian officials as "unacceptable".Fontanka said people using the passports in the names of Petrov and Boshirov travelled to Amsterdam, Geneva, Milan and Paris on multiple occasions between September 2016 and March 2018. A person using Petrov's passport travelled to London at least once before the Skripals were poisoned, for a visit from Feb. 28.Fontanka, an independent Russian media outlet with a strong track record of investigative reporting, did not disclose the source of its information.Yulia Skripal and her father Sergei, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service, were found unconscious on a public bench in the British city of Salisbury on March 4.They were in hospital for weeks and have both now been discharged.Britain said they were poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent developed in Russia, and that it was highly likely the Russian state had tried to murder them. The case brought the biggest round of East-West diplomatic expulsions since the Cold War.Russia said British authorities had failed to produce any evidence of Russian involvement in the poisoning and showed no interest in conducting a thorough investigation.A woman later died from Novichok poisoning after her partner found a counterfeit perfume bottle which police believe had been used to smuggle the nerve agent into Britain.The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement released late on Wednesday that a speech by British Prime Minister Theresa May threatening Russia with retaliation over the poisoning was delivered in an "unacceptable tone."Referring to May's accusations of Russia's involvement in the poisoning, the statement said: "We decisively reject these insinuations." 
Russians named in spy poisoning travelled widely in Europe
The Kremlin denied on Thursday that Russia was in any way involved in the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter, describing British accusations that an attack had been approved by senior Russian officials as "unacceptable".Britain charged two Russians in absentia on Wednesday with the attempted murder of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the English city of Salisbury. It said the two suspects were Russian military intelligence officers almost certainly acting on orders from high up in the Russian state."We again say that neither the upper leadership, nor the leadership a rank lower or any official representatives had or have anything to do with the events in Salisbury," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call."Any suggestions of this kind or accusations, I repeat, are unacceptable," he said.UK says Russia's Putin is ultimately responsible for Novichok attackBritish police have released images of two men they said flew to Britain using the aliases of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov to kill Skripal with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent.Peskov said Moscow was unable to check the identities of the men because it had not received a formal request to do so from London. Britain has said it will not ask Moscow to extradite the men because Russia's constitution forbids it."For the Russian side to be able to take any kind of action or decide to take action with regards to these people, we need to receive a corresponding request from the British side ..." Peskov said.Skripal -- a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain's MI6 foreign spy service -- and his daughter were found slumped unconscious on a park bench in March. They spent weeks in hospital before being discharged.A woman near Salisbury, Dawn Sturgess, died in July and her partner Charlie Rowley fell ill after Rowley found a counterfeit bottle of Nina Ricci perfume containing Novichok and brought it home.People using the same passports as Petrov and Boshirov travelled widely in Europe, visiting cities including Amsterdam, Geneva, Milan and Paris, according to an online Russian news outlet.
Kremlin calls British allegations in spy poisoning unacceptable