12 Jul 2018 18:40

Russia hopes those responsible for Amesbury incident are brought to justice - Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax) - Moscow hopes the incident in the British town of Amesbury will be thoroughly investigated and those responsible held accountable, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing in Moscow on Thursday.

"We would like to hope that the causes and circumstances of the Amesbury incident will be thoroughly and fairly investigated and made public and those responsible brought to justice in accordance with the law," Zakharova said.

"And it is very important that the propaganda unleashed by the British authorities not be able to deal a devastating blow to the inquiry. What we're seeing now is the opposite," she said.

She offered her condolences to the families and friends of Dawn Sturgess, who died in hospital. Hopefully, the condition of the second victim, Charlie Rowley, will improve, Zakharova said.

The two were found unconscious in Amesbury on June 30 after coming into contact with an unknown substance. They were taken to a hospital in nearby Salisbury in critical condition.

British police said later that the couple had been poisoned with Novichok, which the government says was used in the attempted murder of the former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March. The British authorities blamed Russia for the attack. Moscow has denied the accusations.