Nebenzya Vehemently Denies British Allegations that Russia Perpetrated Nerve Agent Attack on UK Soil

UN Security Council representative Vasily Nebenzya vehemently denied British allegations that Russia perpetrated a nerve agent attack on UK soil, while imploring Council members to think critically about the incident.

Nebenzya stated that, following the letter and the 24-hour ultimatum from British Prime Minister Theresa May, Russia had called for an open, not closed, meeting of the Security Council, in the interests of transparency. “We wanted to make sure everyone sees what’s happening here,” Nebenzya said, RT reported.

He went on to decry the “completely irresponsible statements” and “threats against a permanent member of the UNSC” made by British politicians calling the international community to look beyond “highly likely” type of proof, while reaffirming that Russia “had nothing to do with this incident.”

 WHY UN, NOT HAGUE?

Nebenzya questioned why the case was being “dragged” before the Council, ignoring procedure. He alleged that the real reason the British government broke protocol was that it feared that “real experts” in The Hague would not be convinced by the evidence.

“We asked for samples of the substance used to assist in a joint investigation. This request was ignored,” he said. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is located in The Hague.

 “Is this something that benefits Russia on the eve of Russian elections and the World Cup? Abiding on presumption of innocence, I can think of a great number of countries that would benefit from such accusations,” Nebenzya said, declining to name them on the UNSC floor, however. He described Skripal as “pardoned” and “no longer a threat to Russia,” while simultaneously being “the perfect victim who could justify any unthinkable lie, any kind of untruth tarnishing Russia.” 

“Let me repeat. Russia had nothing to do with this incident. The British ultimatum isn’t worthy of our attention and is null and void,” he said. “We trust they will provide samples of the substances for examination for a joint investigation. This is not optional, this is a mandatory requirement. We have nothing to fear and nothing to hide.”

TUBES INSTEAD OF WORDS

Nebenzya called on his colleagues in the Security Council to invoke the spirit of Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and think critically about the incident and about the evidence and subsequent allegations.

“We demand material proof of the alleged Russian nerve agent traces from this event,” he said. “Merely stating that there is incontrovertible proof is unacceptable. An independent analysis would be more appropriate.”

He alluded to the fact that such rapid analysis and verification by British authorities might itself prove damning to their claims.

“For the British specialists to be perfectly confident that this was a Novichok agent and not any other kind, they would need a control standard for proof. It [the substance used in the attack] must be compared to a control substance,” Nebenzya stated. “They have a collection and they have the formula. In other words, if the UK is so firmly convinced this is Novichok, they have samples and formula and are capable of formulating it themselves.”

“It is no longer necessary to show the Council test tubes with white substances. It is enough to send letters with egregious accusations,” he said.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER COUNTRIES?

Nebenzya highlighted that multiple NATO-member countries had previously initiated programs to develop VX-type nerve agents themselves and that developmental work on Soviet-era nerve agents stopped in 1992. In 2017, the Russian Federation completed the destruction of all existing stockpiles in accordance with OPCW guidelines. To date, the US has not destroyed its chemical stockpile.

Russia Calls UK’s Hostile Actions a Provocation, Vows Response

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the UK’s hostile actions against Russia under the pretext of the poisoning of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal are an unprecedented provocation which won’t be left without a response.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May accused Russia of using a chemical weapon on British soil, suggesting a set of measures to retaliate against Moscow. Those include the expulsion of 23 diplomats, limiting ties and freezing Russian state assets in the UK.

The British move is “an unprecedentedly rude provocation, which undermines the foundations of a normal dialogue between our countries,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said that “the British government chose confrontation with Russia” instead of completing the investigation and using international formats “including those in the framework of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons [OPCW].”

“It’s obvious that by opting for unilateral and non-transparent methods of investigating this incident, the British authorities have once again tried to unleash an indiscriminate anti-Russian campaign,” the statement read.

Moscow said that it was “unacceptable and unworthy” for the UK leadership to further escalate tensions in relations with Russia “in pursuit of its own deplorable political aims.”

“Of course, our response [to the UK sanctions] is forthcoming,” the Foreign Ministry concluded.

Former Russian-UK double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter remain in critical condition after being discovered slumped on a bench in Salisbury in early March. The UK authorities claim that they were poisoned with a Soviet-engineered nerve agent called Novichok.

Russia has said that it’s open to cooperation with the UK on the Skripal case if it’s carried out in accordance with international law and Moscow is treated as an equal partner in the probe. Russia has also officially requested that the UK provide all the case files regarding the incident, but was turned down.

West Launches Massive Campaign to Kick Russia out of UN Security Council- Senator

commenting on the UK’s accusations against Moscow over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, Russian Senator Sergey Kalashnikov said that the West has launched a large-scale campaign to remove Russia from the UN Security Council (UNSC).

 “The West has launched a massive operation in order to kick Russia out of the UN Security Council,” Kalashnikov said, as cited by RIA Novosti. “Russia is now a very inconvenient player for the Western nations and this explains all the recent attacks on our country,” RT reported.

The Senator believes that in order to curb Russia’s membership there is going to be an attempt to reform the principal UN body tasked with the maintenance of international peace and security. The Russian Federal Council member reminded that the USSR, to which Russia is the legal successor, has been an integral part of the UNSC since its establishment in 1946.

On Wednesday, Labor MP Chris Leslie addressed May on the issue of reforming the UN Security Council in order to limit Russia’s rights within the body during a parliament session.

Leslie argued that Russia was “increasingly looking like a rogue state,” adding that “we must now begin to talk about reform” of the UNSC. “Russia can’t be allowed to simply sit pretty, thumbing its nose to the rest of the world community and feeling that it’s immune from the rule of law internationally,” Leslie said.

H.M