Ambassador tells Salisbury nerve agent attack cop it “wasn’t Russia”
Russia's ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, has written to the policeman involved in a Salisbury nerve agent attack denying that Russia was involved.
Yakovenko said he wished Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who attended to ex-Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia when they were found in Salisbury having been targeted with nerve agent, a full recovery.
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your bravery when reacting to the assault on two Russian nationals, Sergei and Yulia Skripal on March 4 in Salisbury, who I hope will get well soon too," the Russian ambassador said.
"Please be assured that Russia has nothing to do with this reckless incident."
Read more: Policeman who fell ill after responding to the Russian spy poisoning discharged from hospital
Bailey was discharged from hospital on Thursday, and said in a written statement that "‘normal’ life for me will probably never be the same".
Vladimir Timoshkov, a man claiming to be a former classmate of Sergei Skripal, also told the BBC this morning that Skripal "regretted" being a spy, and had written to Russian president Vladimir Putin asking for a full pardon so he could return to Russia to visit his family.
The Kremlin denies receiving such a letter.
The fallout from the Salisbury attack has continued, after Theresa May expelled Russian diplomats from the UK and Russia retaliated. The UK has also withdrawn its diplomat to Russia.
A number of other EU states are said to be considering similar action with regards to ejecting Russian diplomats, including France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
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