London's principle of suspicion being the queen of evidence, which they apply to the Skripal case, is unacceptable. 'We need facts, not suspicions or assumptions,' Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, in Moscow. According to the Minister, Russia will respond to London's request, if it's made within the 10 days allowed by law. Our correspondent Darya Kozlova is in the MFA building right now.
- Hello Darya. What statements have been made?
- Hello. Sergey Lavrov said that there is only regress, we see no progress in the Skripal case. Two days after Theresa May's accusation, London still hasn't sent an official request to Moscow. Moreover, the British rep in the OPCW is asking Moscow not to use international conventions in the case. These conventions demand that Moscow cooperate with the investigation, and Russia is provided with the poisonous substance samples. Sergey Lavrov called London's recent action no other than a display of UK's self-righteousness.
Sergey Lavrov, Russia's MFA rep: "The consultations in compliance with the convention aren't optional, they are mandatory. If London has run out of experts who can advise the management of the Foreign Office, and the management at 10, Downing St. on how law-abiding members of the international society must act in this case, it's not our problem. When an official request comes through, we will fulfill our obligations defined by the CWC by responding within the 10-day deadline. However, for now, instead of submitting such a request, Britain has continued to stage a political performance".
Sergey Lavrov has emphasized that London has no concrete arguments. However, they seem cavalier with words, like 'possible', 'highly likely', and 'assuming' in their accusation. The West has used the same exact phrasing before, when London lab remotely investigated the chemical attack in Syria's Khan Shaykhun on April 4th. Obviously, the Syrian issue was also discussed during the meeting between Russian and Turkish MFA reps. Particularly, they talked about the US actions on the east bank of the Euphrates, and the creation of U.S. military bases in Syria.
Sergey Lavrov, Russia's MFA rep: "There's no reason to doubt that at least some people in the US ruling elite seek to ensure their presence there for the long term, if not perpetually, and to contribute to the collapse of the Syrian state. various methods have been put to use to achieve this goal, and preparations are being made for new provocations involving chemical weapons, in particular, such incidents are planned to be staged in Eastern Ghouta. They may use it as a pretext to use force".
Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow has used all conduits to firmly warn Washington against attacking Damascus. Obviously, the bilateral collaboration between Russia and Turkey was also discussed. Special attention was paid to the implementation of such large projects as the Turkish Stream, the construction of Turkey's first NPP, Akkuyu, and the delivery of Russian S-400 Triumph surface-to-air missile systems to Turkey. The Ministers said that their cooperation on these matters is productive and follows the plan. The Turkish Foreign Minister has mentioned the need to ease of the visa regime between the two countries.
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkish Foreign Minister: "We must bypass our visa regime, for it creates obstacles for our economic and cultural cooperation. Of course, we want Russian citizens to be able to visit Turkey without the travel passport, and for our citizens to visit your country just as freely".
Next time, Sergey Lavrov and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will meet on March 16th. A meeting in Astana between the MFA Directors from Russia, Turkey, and Iran is to take place in Astana. They'll discuss regulations in Syria in compliance with the UN Resolution 2254.
Darya Kozlova, from MFA, Moscow.
