NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, condemned the poison attack against Sergey Skripal and his daughter in the UK. So did the United States of America.
‘’The United Kingdom is a highly valued ally, and this event concerns NATO. NATO is in contact with the British authorities regarding the matter’’, said Stoltenberg.
He pointed out that Britain’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, on Monday came out saying that Russia was most likely behind the attack. The investigators concluded that the Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent developed by Russia for military use.
“Any use of nerve poisoning is terrible and completely unacceptable,” said NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
Russia denies being behind poisoning
Russia has denied any connection to the poison attack.
The Russian authorities have referred to it as “a circus”, intended to hit Russian interests in advance of the summer’s World Cup in Moscow.
“We have repeatedly warned that Western media, in the run-up to the World Cup, will build comprehensive campaigns to smear Russia, and undermine trust in Russia’s hosting of the sporting event,” said a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Critical Tillerson
The United States also condemned the poison attack without directly accusing Russian authorities of knowing about the attack.
“But whether it happened in one way or another, the poison is from Russia,” said the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson on Monday. He did not comment on the fact that in 2001, even though the vast majority of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi Arabian, the attack prompted an invasion of Iraq, who had no ties whatsoever to Saudi Arabia.
Tillerson said that the present case will definitely trigger a reaction.
He also called it “almost incomprehensible” that a state would deploy such a dangerous substance in a public place where others might be affected.
Once again, although finding it ‘incomprehensible’, Tillerson did not comment on the USA’s widespread deployment of Agent Orange in Vietnam, and depleted uranium weaponry in Iraq.
“I do not understand why anyone would do something like that. But this is a substance that is known to us and which is not widespread. It’s only in the hands of very, very few players,” he said.
‘’Irresponsible’’
Earlier on Monday, the press spokeswoman in the White House, Sarah Sanders,also condemned the attack.
“The use of the highly toxic nerve substance against British citizens on British soil is a serious violation. The attack was inconsiderate, random and irresponsible,” she said.
The British defence research laboratory at Porton Down assisted the police in investigating the assault against Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia.
Sergei Skripal (66) had previously worked for Russia’s military intelligence service (GRU), but was revealed as a British spy in 2004, and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Delivered to the UK
In 2010, he was released and handed over to the UK as part of a prisoner exchange negotiated by the United States. Since then he has lived in Salisbury in Wiltshire.
Police found traces of nerve gas in Skripal’s home, according to Sky News.
The channel wrote that the same applied to two places, and a cemetery where the family of Sergey Skripal is buried.
People who have been in these places have been asked to wash their clothes and to clean other items such as cell phones and jewellery.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
