Foreign affairs

Russian Embassy Slams Johnson's Salisbury Remarks

The remarks made by UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on the suspected poisoning of a former Russian intelligence officer in the UK town of Salisbury show that "the script of a new campaign against Moscow" has already been prepared, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in the United Kingdom said in a Tuesday statement.

While delivering a speech in parliament earlier in the day, the top UK diplomat said that London could reconsider the level of its representation at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia if the investigation into suspected poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former officer of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) accused of spying on behalf of London, showed that Moscow was linked to the incident.

"We are impressed by the statement of the Foreign Secretary in Parliament today. The Foreign Secretary spoke in such a manner as if the investigation was already over and Russia was found responsible for what had happened in Salisbury. We regret that instead of a proper official clarification on the issue the Foreign Secretary chose to threaten Russia with retribution. Looks like the script of yet another anti-Russian campaign has been already written," the statement said.