85 weeks have passed since the Salisbury incident - no credible information or response from the British authoritie
On 4 March 2018 the Russian citizens Sergei and Yulia Skripal were reportedly poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury and were taken to Salisbury District Hospital under obscure circumstances. The UK government accused the Russian state of being responsible for the poisoning. No proofs have been provided.
For more than half a year our nationals have been kept in isolation and under full control of the British authorities. They remain out of the public eye in an unknown location, are deprived of the right to communicate with their relatives, friends, journalists and Russian officials, may not move freely. For its part, Russia has been open and willing to cooperate within the numerous available frameworks.
The following requests and proposals have been sent to the British authorities:
- A proposal to launch a joint investigation into the incident;
- Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office request for legal assistance in the matter of Sergei and Yulia Skripal made within the framework of the investigation of the criminal case opened in Russia (has been denied under the pretext of “national security interests”);
- Embassy’s numerous requests for consular access to the Russian citizens Sergei and Yulia Skripal in conformity with the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the bilateral 1965 Consular Convention (have been continuously denied under false pretext);
- Russia’s proposal to establish cooperation under paragraph 2, Article IX of the Chemical Weapons Convention (instead of direct collaboration, the British authorities continue to manipulate CWC provisions by resorting exclusively to the obscure procedure of the so-called technical assistance provided by OPCW Secretariat in a non-transparent manner);
- More than 70 Notes Verbales and letters sent to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office and police with dozens of questions concerning the whereabouts of the Russian citizens, symptoms of their poisoning, methods of medical treatment applied to them, course of the police investigation, samples of the biomaterials and chemical agent allegedly used in Salisbury, and evidence, which could help establish the truth.
All these make us believe that the incident in Salisbury is a provocation of the British secret services, and the UK authorities are interested using it in whipping up an anti-Russian hysteria for the sake of their internal political interests, rather than in establishing the truth through an impartial and credible investigation.
British authorities are thus in a gross violation of international law and UK’s obligations under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the bilateral 1965 Consular Convention, the 1959 European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1950 Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
On November 13–14, 2019, Brasilia will host the 11th BRICS Summit. In the run-up to this key event of the year for our group I would like to share Russia's vision of the BRICS strategic partnership.
The current Brazilian BRICS Chairmanship managed to achieve serious progress in all main pillars of cooperation – political, economic and humanitarian. Russia supports its Brazilian friends in their efforts to improve the practical impact of our multifaceted interaction on the prosperity of our States and peoples.
Mr Mnatsakanyan,
First of all, I would like thank our Armenian friends for the invitation on behalf of my delegation and myself, for the very cordial welcome and substantive negotiations that began today with a meeting with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and continued at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Good afternoon,
The meeting with my Burundian colleague Ezechiel Nibigira took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere. We enjoy friendly relations based on the principles of international law, respect for mutual interests and deep historical sympathy that our peoples have for each other.
Question: Mr Lukashevich, I would like to start with a difficult question. The people seldom understand the role and importance of such institutions as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). They believe that it is all talk and little action, apart from that of the adoption of resolutions. This is partly true. Are there too many international organisations that are hardly having any influence on realities? And it also costs a fortune to maintain them.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have held constructive, substantive and very detailed talks with OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger. This is his second visit to Moscow this year. We welcome the regular nature of our contacts.
Mr Secretary General, my dear Thomas,
Colleagues,
We are delighted that you have come to Russia again. We reaffirm our support for your efforts to enhance the efficiency of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). We see that your team is really focused on formulating a unifying agenda of the organisation and on restoring trust between the member states which has been seriously undermined.
Of special importance for us diplomats was the period in Yevgeny Primakov’s life when he was our foreign minister. His appointment to Smolenskaya Square marked a turning point in the country’s foreign policy when conditions were created for the restoration of Russia’s international standing. Primakov knew better than many others that its unique geographical location and centuries-long history, as well as its huge potential and its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, predetermined its independent and multi-directional foreign policy.
At the moment, Norway is celebrating the liberation of East-Finnmark from Nazi occupation. We honour the feat of valour committed by the Soviet soldiers, participants in the resistance movement and partisans, who drove the Nazi occupation forces from the Norwegian land 75 years ago.
Question: Ukraine is not implementing the Steinmeier formula despite having signed it. Will a Normandy format summit be held if this does not happen, if there is no disengagement of forces? Is it realistic to conduct this summit in November? Will the sides manage to draft all the terms in time?
Andrey Rudenko: Russia said more than once that the full implementation of the agreements of the previous summits which were held in Paris and Berlin in 2015−2016 should be a prerequisite of the Normandy format meeting. This primarily applies to the documentation of the Steinmeier formula and the disengagement of forces and hardware in three regions (Zolotoye, Petrovskoye and Stanitsa Luganskaya) on the contact line. In addition to this, a new summit should clearly formulate further steps on the implementation of the Minsk Agreements.
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