London has accused two members of Russian military intelligence of using Novichok to try to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury
Two Russian intelligence officers are alleged to have been behind the March 4 nerve agent poisoning in Salisbury. Pics/AP, AFP
Britain said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "ultimate" responsibility for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in England, as it prepared to brief the UN Security Council.
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London has accused two members of Russian military intelligence of using Novichok to try to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. Security Minister Ben Wallace said Putin bore ultimate responsibility for the poisoning. "Ultimately he does in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence, the GRU, via his ministry of defence."
Vladimir Putin
He told BBC radio: "I don't think anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isn't in control of his state.... And the GRU is without doubt not rogue. "It is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister, and through that into the Kremlin and the president's office." UK has previously pointed the finger at Moscow for the March 4 attack, sparking furious denials.
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