Russia vs UK: Russia summons UK ambassador in Moscow for grilling – Putin stays silent

The British ambassador in Moscow was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, TASS reported.

Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier in the day that Russia had nothing to do with the poisoning of former GRU Colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Britain. “We’ve made a statement to dismiss this as nonsense. We have nothing to do with this,” the diplomat said.

The UK refused to give Russia access to facts related to the Skripal investigation, according to Lavrov.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summoned Russia’s ambassador to London yesterday in relation to the Russia spy poisoning.

Johnson this morning said: “What we’re doing today is giving Russia until midnight tonight to explain how it came to be that novichok was used on the streets of Wiltshire.

“If they can come up with a convincing explanation then obviously we will want to see full disclosure of that to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague.

“If not, then clearly we will want to be announcing the UK response and that will come tomorrow.

“In the meantime what we’ve been doing is talking to friends and partners, explaining what we see as the high likelihood of Russian state agency.

“And I’ve been very encouraged so far by the strength of the support that we are getting.

“I think in particular from President Macron of France, I talked to Sigmar Gabriel my German counterpart, and from Washington where Rex Tillerson last night made it absolutely clear that he sees this as part of a pattern of disruptive behaviour, increasingly disruptive behaviour, malign behaviour by Russia, the reckless use of chemical weapons, the support for the reckless use of chemical weapons which stretches from Syria now to the streets of Salisbury.

“I’ve been encouraged by the willingness of our friends to show support and solidarity.”