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Please, circulate this statement as an official document of this special OPCW Executive Council session.
Mr.
Chairperson,
I
would like to start my speech with the words that belong to the great thinker
Martin Luther, “A lie is like a snowball: the further you roll it, the bigger
it becomes”.
This
wise aphorism is fully applicable to politics. He who has chosen the path of
deception will have to lie again and again, making up explanations for
discrepancies, spreading disinformation and doing forgery, desperately using
all means to cover the tracks of the lies and to hide the truth.
The
United Kingdom has entered this slippery path. We can clearly see all of this
on the example of the “Skripal case” fabricated by the British authorities,
this poorly disguised anti-Russian provocation accompanied by an unprecedented
propaganda campaign, taken up by a group of countries, and the finalized
unprecedented expulsion of diplomats under a far-fetched pretext. Please, do
not try to pass this group for the international community – it is far from
that.
It
has already been a month since the Prime Minister of Great Britain Theresa May
put forward some extremely serious accusations against Russia of the alleged
use of chemical weapons. We have been waiting for an explanation for a long
time, counting on our British colleagues to eventually back up these loud
statements with some at least halfway intelligible facts. We have repeatedly
proposed to them to work together on the investigation of the events in
Salisbury, have been requesting information. The response consisted in haughty,
arrogant statements saying Russia should confess to the crime.
The
British side continues to scatter absolutely unfounded accusations,
disseminating more and more new, often senseless, versions of the events. The
British politicians and officials simply cannot stop anymore and continue
pouring down new torrents of lies. London sabotages every attempt to conduct a
truly objective investigation into the incident in Salisbury with the
participation of Russian experts. They have classified everything, supposedly
conducting their own national investigation. Although the “responsible” have
already been designated.
Why
they are doing this is obvious. Great Britain strives to avoid at all costs the
establishment of the truth about the events, hide all evidence, which could
unmask them. They are simply playing for time. Because the further it gets –
the more difficult it will be to figure out what really did (or did not) happen
in Salisbury.
The
lie always fears the truth, for the truth is the most terrifying weapon against
lies. Let us, therefore, turn to the naked facts which demonstrate how
insolently and clumsily the British government is disseminating the
insinuations regarding the “Skripal case”.
LIE
№1
Russia
does not respond to any legitimate questions made by the United Kingdom on
March 12, 2018 through the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to London A.V.
Yakovenko (some of the allies of the United Kingdom keep repeating this like a
mantra).
I
would like to remind you that the British side has suggested that we confess to
one of the two versions it has made up: either the poisoning of Sergey and
Yulia Skripal was a purposeful action by Russia, or Russia has lost control
over the arsenal of chemical weapons it allegedly has. Despite the brazen
nature of this ultimatum, we definitely did not ignore it, but immediately gave
an unequivocal answer: Russia has nothing to do with the chemical incident in
Salisbury. Great Britain has not contacted us with any other questions.
LIE
№2
Great
Britain acts in strict compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The
facts demonstrate exactly the opposite. Thus, the Article IX of the Convention
stipulates that States Parties shall conduct bilateral consultations on any
ambiguous issues. We see that in reality the United Kingdom has avoided
complying with this provision and still refuses to interact with us. As far as
the British ultimatum communicated through the Ambassador of the Russian
Federation I have mentioned is concerned, it cannot in any way be considered a
“proposal of cooperation” in the sense of the CWC or a “request for legal
assistance”.
On
our part, on April 13, we sent through the Technical Secretariat a note to the
British side under the Paragraph 2 Article IX with a list of legitimate
questions that we have regarding the “Skripal case”. We have been acting
strictly in accordance with the Convention and expected that our partners from
London would do the same. There still has been no response. It is as if the
United Kingdom did not notice the Convention at all or did not want to act in
accordance with its norms.
We
also witnessed how London came up with a new form of work – “the independent
verification by the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW of the British side’s
findings.” I would like to underscore: there is nothing like this in the
Convention. This is an invention by the United Kingdom. Instead of precisely
following the provisions of the Convention, the United Kingdom tries to pull
the wool over everyone’s eyes.
LIE
№3
Russia
refuses to cooperate in establishing the truth.
In
the reality, it is exactly the opposite. Russia is extremely interested –
probably, even more than any other country – in an honest, open and impartial
investigation of the incident in Salisbury. We have repeatedly proposed, asked,
demanded from the British side to cooperate in the investigation. We have put
forward for the consideration of the 57th extraordinary session
of the Executive Council a draft decision that contained the call for Russia
and Great Britain to establish such interaction with the involvement of the
Technical Secretariat. We expressed then and confirm now our readiness to
cooperate with the OPCW and within the OPCW.
Unfortunately,
all of our efforts stumble into a blind wall of complete unwillingness of
London to interact.
LIE
№4
The
United Kingdom claims that Russia, allegedly, infinitely multiplies its
versions of the chemical incident in Salisbury trying to divert from itself the
wave of criticism for the alleged use of chemical weapons on the British soil.
In
the reality, this is what the British side has been doing, disseminating
through its so-called “independent” media the infinite versions: the poison
first was in the suitcase, then on the door handle, then in the buckwheat, then
at the restaurant, then in the flower bouquet, then in the ventilation system
of the car, then in perfume, etc.
LIE
№5
The
Russian leadership has allegedly stated that the extermination of traitors
abroad is the state policy of the Russian Federation.
This
is slander and complete nonsense. Let them demonstrate where they saw this.
Obviously, the United Kingdom will not be able to present a single example of a
statement of this kind because nothing similar has ever been said by the
Russian leadership.
LIE
№6
The
conclusions made by the experts of the Technical Secretariat based on the
results of the analysis of samples collected from the Skripal father and
daughter confirmed that they had been poisoned with a substance from the
“Novichok” family.
Our
military experts are ready to present their evaluation of what was said in the
report by the Technical Secretariat based on the results of the work of the
group of specialists in the United Kingdom.
For
now, I will only say one thing: the claim that the Technical Secretariat
confirmed that this chemical points to its Russian origin is an outright lie.
The report itself does not say a single word about the name “Novichok”; the CWC
simply does not contain such a concept. And in the report by the Technical
Secretariat there is also no confirmation of the “Russian footprint” in the
chemical substance found in Salisbury.
Nevertheless,
the British authorities immediately disseminated in the world media the fake
news that the OPCW supposedly confirmed that the Skripals were poisoned with
“Novichok”, and that the latter, they say, was developed in the USSR and Russia
only, hence Moscow is to blame. This is how the findings of the report by the
Technical Secretariat are being falsified.
LIE
№7
The
so-called “Novichok” is a Soviet invention and it, supposedly, could have been
produced only in Russia.
It
is necessary to remind that “Novichok” is the name invented in the West for a
group of chemical agents which were developed in many countries, including in
the United Kingdom. In one of his recent interviews, the Secretary of State
Boris Johnson confirmed that the United Kingdom has samples of this substance
at the laboratory in Porton Down. Actually, we have a lot of questions to ask
this laboratory. It would be interesting to know how they determined that the
Skripals had been poisoned with a “Novichok”-type nerve agent. Because any
reasonable person would understand that you can establish this if you have the
original component to which you can compare the chemical which has been found.
It follows that this laboratory has a stock of “Novichok”, and, possibly, also
the antidotes which were used in the Skripals’ treatment.
In
Russia, there has never been any research and development or experimental work
conducted as part of a programme under the name of “Novichok”. I reiterate,
there has never been a programme with such a name. In the Soviet times,
starting with the 1970s, not only the Soviet, but also the British and American
scientists were working on creating new types of nerve agents. This is how the
famous VX nerve gas was created. And in the 1990s, after the breakup of the
USSR, the Western special services exported from Russia a group of chemists
together with the documentation. The specialists in the West began to closely study
the documents and, based on them, started working in this direction, achieved
certain results, which were made public.
We
know very well that the “Novichok”-type nerve agents were in production in a
number of countries. And, unlike our Western partners, who are constantly
rolling their eyes and saying that they know something but that it, as they
say, is intelligence data and they cannot reveal it, we operate in a different
fashion. We work with open sources. Thus, on December 1, 2015, the United States
Patent and Trademark Office contacted the Russian agency responsible for issues
concerning patents with a request to check the patentability of an invention
made by an American scientist T. Rubin. Here is this document (demonstration).
This
document talks about the invention of a special bullet, the distinctive feature
of which is that it has a separate cavity for equipping it with different kinds
of toxic agents. When using the mentioned invention, the lethal effect is
achieved due to the effect of this toxic agent on the human body. In other
words, this ammunition falls under the jurisdiction of the CWC. The principle
of operation of the bullet consists in equipping it with binary components
which interact with each other upon impact. And this is what we read on the
page 11 of this official American document, “At least one of the active
substances may be selected from nerve agents including… tabun (GA), sarin (GB),
soman (GD), cyclosarin (GF), and VG, …VM, VR, VX, and [attention!] Novichok
agents.”
In
other words, this document confirms that in the United States the
“Novichok”-type nerve agents were not just produced but also patented as a
chemical weapon. And not some long time ago, but just a couple of years ago –
the patent is dated December 1, 2015.
Moreover,
searching by the key word “Novichok” on the digital source google.patents.com
you can find over 140 patents issued by the United States, related to the use
and protection from exposure to the “Novichok” toxic agent.
These
are the real facts, not some idle talk, and the response to those who
insolently claim that the “Novichok”-type nerve agents existed and were
produced in the USSR and Russia.
LIE
№8
One
of the victims, a Russian citizen Yulia Skripal is, allegedly, avoiding
contacts with her relatives and refusing the Russian consular assistance.
Presently,
the British authorities are zealously hiding Yulia Skripal from the media and
the public. Her whereabouts are unknown. The Russian side, as well as her
relatives (her cousin Victoria was refused an entry visa by the British
authorities) are being denied access to her. She does not have the opportunity
to go back to Russia and undergo medical examination and treatment.
The
abovementioned circumstances indicate that, in fact, the Russian citizen Yulia
Skripal is being held hostage by the British authorities, held by force on the
territory of the United Kingdom, subjected to psychological manipulation.
I
have given just a few examples of how the British authorities spread
disinformation and blatantly lie. This list of disclosures could, probably, go
on, but we should probably stop here. It is typical that the United Kingdom is
not even thinking about refuting any of their theses, despite the fact that
they are completely unfounded.
I
have no doubts that in the future, we can await new waves of disinformation,
pseudo-leaks to the media, insolent attacks on us by the British officials. But
no real evidence will ever be produced.
The
United Kingdom demonstrates clear unwillingness to adequately cooperate regarding
the investigation of this obscure story. This convinces us that the United
Kingdom does not want any truth. They cannot allow it to come to light.
The
report presented by the Technical Secretariat concerning the British
specialists’ findings poses a number of questions and calls for additional
detailed examination, including by the British side. Any specialist would
understand that the final conclusions can be made only having before your eyes
the materials of the chemical and spectral analysis of the mentioned samples.
And the Technical Secretariat has passed these materials only to London.
We
underscore, Russia will not take at face value any conclusions regarding the
“Skipal case” until one simple condition is met: the Russian experts will be
provided with access to the victims, as well as to the mentioned materials of
the OPCW expert analysis and the entire volume of the real information
regarding this incident London has at its disposal.
We
have solid grounds to believe that all of this is a gross provocation against
Russia by the special services of the United Kingdom. And if the British side
continues to refuse to cooperate with us, it will only reaffirm our conviction
that this is exactly the case.
Mr.
Chairperson,
One
cannot help but recall the following saying: for some people lying is not a
means of justification, but a means of defence. On April 16, we heard yet
another strange statement: the G7 calls upon Russia to respond to the
legitimate questions of the United Kingdom regarding the “Skripal case”. You
can consider this statement our response.
At
the same time, we would like to hear from the British side the answers to the
numerous and specific questions of the Russian Federation regarding the
incident in Salisbury. Moreover, we would be grateful if the representatives of
the G7 could explain to us why their countries launched a diplomatic war
against Russia based on some fakes.
Thank
you, Mr. Chairperson.
Please,
circulate this statement as an official document of this special OPCW Executive
Council session.
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