Russia: UK’s moves in ex-spy’s poisoning mirror past plots

MOSCOW — Russian prosecutors said Monday Britain’s accusations over the poisoning of an ex-spy in England are in keeping with its behavior in previous high-profile cases.

Britain has blamed Russia for the March 4 poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his adult daughter, Yulia. Russia fiercely denies the allegations.

Deputy Prosecutor General Saak Karapetian said Monday the British government’s refusal to share evidence echoes the 2006 death in London of ex-KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with radioactive polonium.

Russia rejected the verdict of a British inquiry that Russian security services killed Litvinenko and accused Britain of manipulating evidence.

Karapetian also cited the death inquiry for Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky. Berezovsky died in Britain in 2013, and a coroner concluded it was impossible to say whether it was suicide or a slaying.

Berezovsky’s death in 2013 could have been convenient for British authorities as the tycoon, who had cooperated with British intelligence agencies, was pondering the possibility of returning to Russia, the deputy prosecutor general said.

“British authorities are waging the anti-Russian campaign over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter following the same scenario,” Karapetian said. “In all those cases, people who faced Russian criminal charges were used as targets … helping create a semblance of motive for their physical elimination.”

He added the refusal by British officials to cooperate with Russia or publicly share any evidence in their secret probes was “excluding any possibility of their objective assessment.”