Disaster Novichok Poisoning Suspects: 'We were just tourists' - They were good boys just out to see the Cathedral and Stonehenge. They dindu nuffin.

The Ruskies who visited Salisbury for 30 minutes each day over one weekend weren't up to no good, they were just tourists frustrated by inclement weather.

Skripal suspects: 'We were just tourists in Salisbury'

• 2 hours ago

• Share this with Facebook
  
• Share this with Messenger
  
• Share this with Twitter
  
• Share this with Email
  
• Share

Related Topics

• Russian spy poisoning

Media caption"Our friends had been suggesting for a long time that we visit this wonderful town"
Two men named as suspects in the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in the UK have said they were merely tourists.

The men, named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, told the state-run RT channel they had travelled to Salisbury on the recommendation of friends.

The UK believes the men are Russian military intelligence officers who tried to kill Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury last March.

Downing Street dismissed the interview.

"The lies and blatant fabrications in this interview given to a Russian state-sponsored TV station are an insult to the public's intelligence," Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said.

On Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin said "there is nothing criminal about them" and called them "civilians".

• What happened to the Skripals?

• Skripal suspects interview: Key excerpts

• What is the GRU?

The Skripals survived being poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok, but Dawn Sturgess - a woman not connected to the Russian events - died in July having been exposed to the same substance.

What do the two Russians say?
Appearing nervous and uncomfortable, the men confirmed their names as those announced by the UK investigators - Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. "Those are our real names," they said.

RT is Russia's state-run international broadcaster, and the pair were interviewed by its chief editor, Margarita Simonyan. "Their passports match and the photos and the information from the British side shows it's these people," she said.

The men said they worked in the sports nutrition business and had travelled to London for a short holiday, fitting in a couple of day trips to Salisbury.

Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionThe British authorities released photos of the two men they suspected of carrying out the poisoning
"Our friends had been suggesting for a long time that we visit this wonderful town," Mr Petrov said.

They said they only stayed an hour in Salisbury on Saturday 3 March because of the snowy weather conditions, but returned on Sunday 4 March to visit the sights.

The two men admitted they may have passed Mr Skripal's house by chance "but we don't know where it is located," Mr Petrov said.

When asked about Novichok, they emphatically denied carrying it, or the modified Nina Ricci perfume bottle which UK investigators say contained the substance.

Image copyrightAFP/MET POLICE
Image captionThe counterfeit perfume bottle recovered from Mr Rowley's home and the box police say it came in
"For normal blokes, to be carrying women's perfume with us, isn't that silly?" Mr Boshirov asked.

The two men told RT their lives had been "turned upside down" by the allegations. "We're afraid to go out, we fear for ourselves, our lives and lives of our loved ones," said Mr Boshirov.

The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Moscow described the interview as carefully choreographed and bizarre, pointing out that in tone and content it matched the whole Russian response to the case - flat denial mixed with mockery.

What are the UK allegations?
The British police believe the men to be officers of Russian military intelligence, GRU, who may have travelled on false passports to London from Moscow in March.

Media captionOn the trail of Russians Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who UK police say carried out a nerve agent attack in Salisbury in March 2018
They say the purpose of the men's visit to Salisbury on 3 March was reconnaissance, and on 4 March they returned to apply Novichok to the Skripals' front door.

The UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says there is enough evidence to convict the two men, although it is not applying to Russia for their extradition because Russia does not extradite its own nationals.

However, a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained in case they travel to the EU, and UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid has warned that the men will be caught and prosecuted if they ever step out of Russia.

Answers, but still questions
BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera

The appearance of the two men looks like the next step in the struggle between London and Moscow to convince their own publics and those around the world about their respective cases.

The amount of detail put out by British police last week, and the direct accusation that the men were officers in Russian military intelligence, was something the Kremlin will not have wanted to go unchallenged.

And the Russian government will be hoping this interview will generate sympathy at home for what are said to be a pair of sports nutrition salesmen who wanted to see a beautiful English cathedral with its 123-metre spire, but who instead have found themselves accused of being assassins.

But the risk for Russia is that the interview raises more questions than it answers and offers more details for sceptics to unpick and challenge.

How plausible are the men generally and specifically about their reasons for visiting Salisbury? How plausible is their account of their movements around the town when compared to the CCTV? And given the UK has suggested the names they use are pseudonyms, how convincing are their stories about who they are, including their past, their jobs and their travel?

What happened when

• At around 15:00 GMT on Friday 2 March, the two men arrived at Gatwick Airport
• Police say they travelled to London Victoria at 17:40 GMT, and were at Waterloo Station between 18:00 and 19:00 GMT before travelling to their London hotel
• At 11:45 GMT on Saturday 3 March, they took a train from Waterloo Station to Salisbury
• CCTV footage shows the men in Salisbury around 14:25 GMT
• The men say they spent less than an hour in Salisbury, deciding against seeing Stonehenge, Old Sarum and Salisbury Cathedral because of "muddy slush everywhere"
• CCTV footage shows the men taking a train back to London at 16:11 GMT
• On Sunday 4 March, CCTV cameras filmed the men arriving at Salisbury train station at 11:48 GMT
• Police say they were then seen on CCTV near the home of Sergei Skripal at 11:58 GMT
• The men say they then visited Salisbury Cathedral
• CCTV footage shows the men leaving Salisbury station at 13:50 GMT
• At 19:28 GMT, the men were at Heathrow Airport for an Aeroflot flight to Moscow

What happened to the Skripals?
Yulia Skripal flew in to the UK from Russia on Saturday 3 March to visit her father, Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent who was living in Salisbury.

They had been for lunch at a restaurant in central Salisbury on 4 March when they were found "in an extremely serious condition" on a bench outside the restaurant.

They spent weeks in intensive care in hospital before recovering. Ms Skripal was discharged from hospital on 9 April and her father on 18 May. They are both now in a secure location.

Why Novichok stays deadly for so long

UK police are linking the attack to a separate Novichok poisoning on 30 June, when Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley fell ill at a house in Amesbury, about 13km (eight miles) away.

Police said they were exposed after handling what they believed to be perfume.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital on 8 July.

I'm convinced. Why must innocent tourists be hounded by the security services on their weekend trip to see some of Britain's finest architecture?

 

[Iwasamwillbe]

And now for more "muh Russia" hysteria, brought to you by the BBC.

 

[Jerry_ smith56]

The news agency run by the Russian government is trying to make suspected spies look innocent, who would have thunk that. In all serious thanks RT you couldn't have made look more guilty if you tried. It legit wouldn't surprise me if this obviously bullshit interview was used as evidence in the trial.

 

[Dreamland]

The news agency run by the Russian government is trying to make suspected spies look innocent, who would have thunk that. In all serious thanks RT you couldn't have made look more guilty if you tried. It legit wouldn't surprise me if this obviously bullshit interview was used as evidence in the trial.

Honestly, i dunno what to believe, why does russia insist on using these exotic methods like polonium and experimental nerve gas to kill people when paying the mob though a dozen or so cutouts would work just as well?

 

[MuuMuu Bunnylips]

"We was tourists an' sheeit."

 

[Norvic]

Honestly, i dunno what to believe, why does russia insist on using these exotic methods like polonium and experimental nerve gas to kill people when paying the mob though a dozen or so cutouts would work just as well?

I suppose murdering people with exotic poisons has the advantage that it takes people a few days to figure out that a murder has actually happened, by which time your operatives are back in the USSR Russia eating Borscht and laughing about how they can't be extradited.

Or maybe when you're in the business of state sponsored murder you just like to keep your job interesting by spicing up the methods.

 

[Jerry_ smith56]

Honestly, i dunno what to believe, why does russia insist on using these exotic methods like polonium and experimental nerve gas to kill people when paying the mob though a dozen or so cutouts would work just as well?

Obviously to send a message to other KGB agents. Russia obviously has secrets that they do not want getting out and they have to keep KGB members in line. I get not trusting the British government but you'd have to a fool to trust the Russians on this especially when they have done this before. Of course, neither of these men have been proven guilty in a court of law so until then they're innocent until proved guilty. May I also add that these forms of death are more painful than paying the mob a dozen or so cutouts.

 

[Fareal]

There is a beautiful segment in the video, right before the “we wanted to see the cathedral” statement, where the RT interviewer is riiiight on the edge of pissing herself laughing and the camera just holds the shot.

I expect a gif of this moment to appear, and to be using it often.

 

[Stock Photo James]

>two men stay for weeks in same hotel, claim they were tourists
Were they gay to stick together? Why spend so much time in a single town if you have so much time to tourist around and enough money? Of course its possible those were just businessmen on business trip unwilling to deal with extra paperwork or working in a more gray business area and thus unwilling to divulge true purpose, but otherwise this doesn't sound convincing at all.

Honestly, i dunno what to believe, why does russia insist on using these exotic methods like polonium and experimental nerve gas to kill people when paying the mob though a dozen or so cutouts would work just as well?

I guess the have two criteria:

• Intimidation, making sure the death is gruesome enough to deliver a message to other potential turncoats and informants. Its not worth shutting up one person, you have to make an example of them.
• Not getting the agents caught, even if they're to some extent deniable assets, they're a problem.

You could just go kidnapping and torturing the person but when it comes to protected or rich enough individuals it its immensely risky to even attempt something like that, unless they slink off somewhere without protection, giving some time before secret service or personal guards realize kidnapping took place. Meanwhile, with all sorts of radiation and toxic poisonings, you ensure people get to die in a very unpleasant way, and gives you some extra time. They could also go for more extreme measures like blowing people, leaving IEDs in their cars, but that would mobilize the law enforcement and intelligence services way quicker, especially in countries like UK where terrorism is a major problem and there are dedicated experienced specialists who could perform the investigation in minimal time.

 

[sasazuka]

Their cover story would have been a lot more plausible if they had at least had spent the night in Salisbury rather than just made two very short day trips.

>two men stay for weeks in same hotel, claim they were tourists
Were they gay to stick together? Why spend so much time in a single town if you have so much time to tourist around and enough money? Of course its possible those were just businessmen on business trip unwilling to deal with extra paperwork or working in a more gray business area and thus unwilling to divulge true purpose, but otherwise this doesn't sound convincing at all.

What do you mean by "weeks"? Their entire stay in Britain was barely two days long from their arrival at Gatwick to their departure from Heathrow.

 

[Blagher]

Honestly, i dunno what to believe, why does russia insist on using these exotic methods like polonium and experimental nerve gas to kill people when paying the mob though a dozen or so cutouts would work just as well?

Cause Putin is a a cold war hipster and that's how they would probably do it back in the day?

 

[UW 411]

Cause Putin is a a cold war hipster and that's how they would probably do it back in the day?

You mean the trusty old 'Fake Tourist' routine? Putin would never!

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Honestly, i dunno what to believe, why does russia insist on using these exotic methods like polonium and experimental nerve gas to kill people when paying the mob though a dozen or so cutouts would work just as well?

Cause deniability only matters for the mere public and that can be done with "We didn't do it." The ones that are supposed to get the message are supposed to know where it came from.

Killing someone with something as nasty as Polonium or Novichok is meant as a reminder towards anyone who's toying with the idea of ratting out Mother Russia or who already ratted them out - and the language is unmistakenly "Whereever you are, however long it'll take, we will get you."

It comes with the added bonus of "even when we let you go in a spy exchange, expect to breathe your last on our terms."
A spy in the KGB Dungeon is a deterrent for others. A man who walks free in London after being exchanged with some other agent is not.

Well, at least in theory, the sad part is: It doesn't matter. Especially not to the public, since we're just pawns that do not have enough info to really say what's going on. Some people know, but they sure as fuck don't care, since their politics are set in stone either way.