Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
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.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin bears ultimate responsibility for an nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in Salisbury earlier this year, Britain's security minister said on Thursday.Prime Minister Theresa May said police and prosecutors now believe the attack on Sergei Skripal was carried out by two Russian military intelligence officers who were almost certainly acting with the approval of senior Russian officials.Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement and some Russian officials have suggested the British security services carried out that attack to stoke anti-Moscow hysteria.Britain summons Russia's charge d'affaires in London over Skripal affairAsked whether President Putin bears responsibility, Ben Wallace told BBC radio: "Ultimately he does in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence.""Ultimately of course he is responsible, he is leader of the state," he said.Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain's MI6 foreign spy service, and his daughter Yulia, were found unconscious on a public bench in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.US, UK stand together in holding Russia accountable for Salisbury: US envoyAfter the attack, allies in Europe and the United States sided with Britain's view of the attack and ordered the biggest expulsion of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War. Russia retaliated by expelling Western diplomats.The motive for attacking Skripal, who was exchanged in a Kremlin-approved spy swap in 2010, is still unclear, as is the motive for using an exotic nerve agent, Novichok, which has such clear links to Russia’s Soviet past. UK PM May: Men charged with nerve agent attack were Russian intelligence officersKremlin says puzzled by UK's decision to name Skripal case suspectsUK names two Russians for attempted murder of Skripals
UK says Russia's Putin is ultimately responsible for Novichok attack
British 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.