LONDON, February 18. /TASS/. Russia’s embassy in London labels as a provocation the appearance of a Russian flag on the Salisbury Cathedral, the embassy’s spokesperson said.
"We have no official information on that. Should it be true that a Russian flag was flown on the cathedral, we believe it looks like a well-thought-out provocation," the diplomat said.
According to the diplomat, nearly a year has gone by since the Salisbury incident, but the UK has not presented any evidence of Russia’s involvement. The investigation was classified, while the Russian diplomatic mission’s numerous requests have been ignored.
"In this context, we assume that the appearance of a Russian flag on the cathedral is another clumsy attempt to associate Russia with the sad events that occurred in Salisbury last March," the diplomat said.
The Salisbury Journal daily reported earlier that a Russian flag was seen draped over scaffolding at Salisbury Cathedral on Sunday. It is believed that someone had climbed the scaffolding during the hours of darkness and hang the flag there. In the morning, the flag was taken down after the cathedral staff had spotted it. The daily published an image of how the huge tricolor was being removed from the scaffolding at the cathedral walls.
Salisbury drew the world’s attention last year when, according to London's version, former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, convicted in Russia of spying for Britain, and his daughter Yulia, were exposed to a "Novichok-class" nerve agent in the city on March 4. The British government claimed that Russia was "highly likely" behind the incident. However, Moscow strongly dismissed all speculations on that score, adding that programs for developing this substance had never existed in the Soviet Union or Russia. Britain’s military chemical laboratory at Porton Down failed to pinpoint the origin of the substance that poisoned the Skripals.
On March 16, Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a criminal case, looking into an attempted murder of Yulia Skripal.
On September 5, British Prime Minister Theresa May briefed parliament on the investigation’s findings to declare that two Russians carrying passports issued in the names of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were suspected accomplices in the assassination attempt. Britain regards both men as GRU agents. Petrov and Boshirov in an interview to the RT television channel dismissed the charges.
