SPEECHES, INTERVIEWS, ARTICLES
06.11.2018
85 weeks have passed since the Salisbury incident - no credible information or response from the British authoritieOn 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.
“Salisbury: a classified case” and “Salisbury: unanswered questions”
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.
LATEST EVENTS
The Foreign Minister drew the Secretary of State’s attention to the fact that the continued arming of the armed forces of Ukraine and nationalist battalions with US and NATO weapons, which are being used against civilians on a large scale, is only prolonging the agony of the Kiev regime by dragging out the conflict and increasing the number of victims. Mr Lavrov stressed that the armed forces of Russia strictly observe the norms of international law and that Russia has engaged in consistent efforts to restore peaceful life on the territories that it is liberating.
The African countries – and they are not alone because our other interlocutors, for example, our colleagues in the SCO, with whom we met yesterday and today – understand well that any member of the international community who behaves in a way that does not suit Americans or who meets with their disapproval could face sanctions. Everyone has a deep understanding of this. What can be done? Today, we have agreed to submit proposals for the consideration of the leaders of our countries on taking concrete steps towards switching to payments in national currencies.
We see the world becoming more diverse and balanced with a growing number of truly inclusive interaction formats coming to the fore. This evolution is backed by multiple countries, including Russia, China and most countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, which seek to pursue independent policies. We act as a team with our Chinese partners to support these processes and to advocate peace and order based on international law, genuine multilateralism and the centrality of the UN and the UN Security Council.
Our positions on key regional and international issues have traditionally been identical or close because they rely on Russia and Ethiopia’s firm commitments to international law, primarily, the principles of the UN Charter, especially including respect for the sovereign equality of states. We see that the attempts by the United States and its allies to impose their views and development models on other nations and to promote their geopolitical zero-sum games run counter to these principles.
Our positions on key regional and international issues have traditionally been identical or close because they rely on Russia and Ethiopia’s firm commitments to international law, primarily, the principles of the UN Charter, especially including respect for the sovereign equality of states. We see that the attempts by the United States and its allies to impose their views and development models on other nations and to promote their geopolitical zero-sum games run counter to these principles.
The role of Africa in the new Concept for Russian Foreign Policy will be given much more prominence. This would have happened regardless of the developments in the West, which as you know, is “cancelling” itself on its own. Given our principled and long-term, as well as short-term interests, the importance of Africa will be increasing as a result of what the West is doing in respect of Russia. This will objectively force us to concentrate more on Africa in our work.
Our Western colleagues have become adept at distorting any news item when it can be used against Russia. Nothing surprises me anymore.
Regarding the incident in Odessa, the obligations that Russia assumed under the agreements signed on July 22 in Istanbul say nothing about preventing us from continuing the special military operation, which can include destroying military infrastructure and other military targets. UN Secretariat representatives confirmed this interpretation of the documents yesterday.
Problems with the Ukrainian grain will be resolved through the coordination centre in Istanbul. It will be guaranteed that the Ukrainians clear their territorial waters from mines and allow the ships to sail from there. Throughout the itinerary on the high seas, Russia and Türkiye will ensure the ships’ safety with their naval forces. When the ships sail back to Ukrainian ports for new batches of food, they will be inspected to make sure no weapons are brought in. This document is publicly available. You can read it.
Russia will honour its commitments in this regard. The fact that the United States and its allies are using food in the interests of their geopolitical adventures is unacceptable and inhumane.
Moscow will continue to pursue a peace-loving foreign policy and play a balancing role in international affairs. We are in favor of broad interstate cooperation based on the provisions of the UN Charter, first of all the principle of the sovereign equality of states. We will continue to strengthen productive interaction with foreign partners who in their turn are willing to cooperate with us.
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