INSIDE the luxurious ambassadorial residence in London's Kensington Gardens, an alternate reality exists.

The vast property is home to Russia's top UK diplomat, Alexander Yakovenko, and one of several immaculate buildings on a privately guarded street where diplomats from France, Nepal, Norway, Slovakia and Romania live with a view of Kensington Palace, neighbours to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

But while Russia's top man in London might share the same police guards, 'no photo' signs and manicured gardens as his European compatriots, that is where the similarities end.

Inside the briefing room laden with chandeliers, parquetry floors and gilded oil paintings, Ambassador Yakovenko outlined his concern about the dual crisis that have plunged Western relations with Russia to lows not seen since the Cold War this week to the world's press.

Speaking about the Skripal poisoning and looming decision over air strikes against the Syrian government, he accused humanitarian groups of staging the chemical attack and blasted the UK for a lack of "transparency" during the Salisbury investigation.

"We are very concerned about the decision of the cabinet to 'take action' in Syria," Mr Yakovenko said. "The preparations are being made despite lack of evidence as regards to what happened on the ground."

On the alleged chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma where an estimated 70 people died, he said Russian security services "did not find any traces of chemical substances. No persons treated for chemical poisoning were found in local hospitals."

That's despite the World Health Organisation stating an estimated 500 people presented at medical facilities with the effects of chemical weapons in the area, according to local agencies. The UN has previously found "clear and convincing evidence" chemical weapons were used in Ghouta in 2013.

On the pending decision on air strikes, Mr Yakovenko said military action could be a pretext to "cover up all the evidence or lack thereof on the ground," and likened it to former Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003.

"It's clear that the goal of these unsubstantiated lies … is to discredit the Syrian government and to justify the use of force by external actors."

"We're witnessing very dangerous developments in Syria," he said, adding US policies are becoming a "threat to peace in the region and beyond."

The comments illustrate just how polarised Russian and Western world views have become in a seemingly intractable conflict mired in accusations of misinformation and fake news. With repeated admonishments of "don't twist my words", the Ambassador laid out a view diametrically opposed to that of the UK government, where Russia only wanted "transparency" and was the victim of a Russophobic media agenda against them.

On the case of Yulia and Sergei Skripal, both still recovering from the effects of nerve agent Novichok, Mr Yakovenko questioned whether Yulia's recent statements, made via the Metropolitan police, were done under duress.

"We're not allowed to see our citizens, talk to doctors, we have no idea about the treatment Russian nationals receive," he said. "We cannot be sure that Yulia's refusal to see us is genuine."

Yulia Skripal is being held in a safe house and has so far refused Russian offers of consular assistance.

Mr Yakovenko also accused the UK of deliberately classifying documents to obfuscate investigations and denied Russia had ever produced Novichok, the deadly nerve agent that Britain has named as the source, which has been backed by the OPCW as one of "high purity."

The UK has placed the blame for the Skripal poisoning firmly at Russian feet, saying it's the only country with the means, motive, and technical ability to carry out the attack on UK soil.

On Friday, UK National Security Adviser Sir Mark Sedwill told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg the UK believes Russian intelligence services were monitoring the Skripals for at least five years before the March 4 poisoning took place.

"We have information indicating Russian intelligence service interest in the Skripals, dating back at least as far as 2013, when email accounts belonging to Yulia Skripal were targeted by GRU cyber specialists," he said, referring to Russia's foreign military intelligence agency.

It comes after UK Prime Minister Theresa May spoke with President Trump and the pair agreed "the Assad regime had established a pattern of dangerous behaviour in relation to the use of chemical weapons."

"They agreed it was vital that the use of chemical weapons did not go unchallenged, and on the need to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regimen," a spokesman said, adding that they were still working on an international response.</s>In a letter to Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Sir Mark also said that in the 2000s the Russians had begun a programme to train personnel from “special units” in the use of chemical warfare agents.

National Security Adviser Sir Mark Sedwill said cyber specialists from the GRU – Russian military intelligence – targeted Yulia Skripal’s email accounts as far back as 2013.

Russian intelligence agencies have been spying on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter for at least five years, Britain has said in the latest twist in the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

In his letter, Sir Mark set out why the Government believes that only Russia has the “technical means, operational experience and the motive” to carry out such an attack – including some declassified intelligence material.

The claims come after the international Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons backed Britain’s assertion the Skripals were poisoned by Novichok – a military grade nerve agent developed by the Russians in the 1980s.

He said that it included investigating ways of delivering nerve agents by applying them to door handles. The strongest concentration of the Novichok nerve agent found in the Salisbury incident was on the front door of Skripal’s home.

“The code word used for the offensive chemical weapons programme (of which the Novichoks were one part) was FOLIANT,” he said.

Sir Mark also identified the key institute for developing Novichok in the former Soviet Union as a branch of the State Institute for Organic Chemistry and Technology at Shikany near Volgograd.

“We have information indicating Russian intelligence service interest in the Skripals dating back at least as far as 2013, when email accounts belonging to Yulia Skripal were targeted by GRU cyber specialists,” he said.

He said Russia had a “proven record of conducting state-sponsored assassination” and that it was “highly likely” some defectors – like Skripal, a former GRU officer who was exchanged in a spy swap in 2010 – may be regarded as “legitimate targets for assassination”.

“It is highly likely that Novichoks were developed to prevent detection by the West and to circumvent international weapons controls.”

He said that Russia had continued to produce and stockpile small quantities of Novichoks within the last decade.

“We therefore continue to judge that only Russian has the technical means, operational experience and motive for the attack on the Skripals and that it is highly likely that the Russian state was responsible,” he said.

Yulia, 33, who was found critically ill alongside her 66-year-old father on a bench in Salisbury in March, was discharged from hospital in Wiltshire this week.

Sergei is recovering more slowly than his daughter but will be able to leave Salisbury District Hospital in due course, said medical director Dr Christine Blanchard, earlier this week.

The Russian Embassy is publishing its own report on the Salisbury nerve gas attack, London ambassador Alexander Yakovenko has announced, adding that the UK has still not produced any evidence to support its claims about the incident.

Yakovenko has accused the British authorities of destroying evidence in the Salisbury nerve agent attack and he said the UK had yet to produce the proof to back its claims that Russia was responsible for the poisoning of the Skripals.

“The British Government still hasn’t produced any evidence in support of its position that would confirm their official version,” he told a news conference at the Russian embassy in London.

“We get the impression the British Government is deliberately pursuing the policy of destroying all possible evidence.”

Yulia has refused assistance from Russia since leaving hospital, after her home country claimed Britain had “abducted” her.

Yakovenko questioned the authenticity of her refusal, again complaining: “We cannot be sure that Yulia’s refusal to see us is genuine. We have every reason to see such actions as the abduction of two Russian nationals.”

He also said he had not received the allegations in Sir Mark’s letter from the authorities and said the claim that Russian intelligence had been interested in the Skripals since at least 2013 came as a “big surprise”.

“If somebody was spying why were the British services not complaining about that because they always complain if something goes wrong in their country or somewhere else,” he said.

The ambassador also denied that Russia had ever produced or stockpiled Novichok nerve agents.

“Russia stopped any chemical programmes in 1992. In 2017 we eliminated all the chemical weapons,” he said.

“We didn’t produce Novichok, we didn’t store this Novichok, so-called under the Western classification, was never in our military forces. This is the fact of life.”

Yakovenko said Russia was sending an official request to the UK on Friday under article nine of the Chemical Weapons Convention seeking “clarification and information” regarding questions and concerns Moscow has.

When asked if he thought there was any connection between events in Syria and in Salisbury, he replied: “We can see some logic there, because one way or another, the whole affair, the real serious affair in Salisbury was a huge provocation against my country.

“I see the philosophical link between everything what happened here and in Syria. But, of course, we’re dealing with every single case on a case-by-case basis.”

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, speaking at a briefing at New Scotland Yard, said around 250 detectives were working on the Salisbury investigation.

Asked if the probe was getting closer to identifying a suspect, she said: “All I can say is we are putting huge effort in, we will continue to do that.

“We will do everything we can to establish the facts, to identify who was responsible and if at all possible, bring them to justice.”</s>INSIDE the luxurious ambassadorial residence in London's Kensington Gardens, an alternate reality exists.

The vast property is home to Russia's top UK diplomat, Alexander Yakovenko, and one of several immaculate buildings on a privately guarded street where diplomats from France, Nepal, Norway, Slovakia and Romania live with a view of Kensington Palace, neighbours to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

But while Russia's top man in London might share the same police guards, 'no photo' signs and manicured gardens as his European compatriots, that is where the similarities end.

Inside the briefing room laden with chandeliers, parquetry floors and gilded oil paintings, Ambassador Yakovenko outlined his concern about the dual crisis that have plunged Western relations with Russia to lows not seen since the Cold War this week to the world's press.

Speaking about the Skripal poisoning and looming decision over air strikes against the Syrian government, he accused humanitarian groups of staging the chemical attack and blasted the UK for a lack of "transparency" during the Salisbury investigation.

"We are very concerned about the decision of the cabinet to 'take action' in Syria," Mr Yakovenko said. "The preparations are being made despite lack of evidence as regards to what happened on the ground."

On the alleged chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma where an estimated 70 people died, he said Russian security services "did not find any traces of chemical substances. No persons treated for chemical poisoning were found in local hospitals."

That's despite the World Health Organisation stating an estimated 500 people presented at medical facilities with the effects of chemical weapons in the area, according to local agencies. The UN has previously found "clear and convincing evidence" chemical weapons were used in Ghouta in 2013.

On the pending decision on air strikes, Mr Yakovenko said military action could be a pretext to "cover up all the evidence or lack thereof on the ground," and likened it to former Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003.

"It's clear that the goal of these unsubstantiated lies … is to discredit the Syrian government and to justify the use of force by external actors."

"We're witnessing very dangerous developments in Syria," he said, adding US policies are becoming a "threat to peace in the region and beyond."

The comments illustrate just how polarised Russian and Western world views have become in a seemingly intractable conflict mired in accusations of misinformation and fake news. With repeated admonishments of "don't twist my words", the Ambassador laid out a view diametrically opposed to that of the UK government, where Russia only wanted "transparency" and was the victim of a Russophobic media agenda against them.

On the case of Yulia and Sergei Skripal, both still recovering from the effects of nerve agent Novichok, Mr Yakovenko questioned whether Yulia's recent statements, made via the Metropolitan police, were done under duress.

"We're not allowed to see our citizens, talk to doctors, we have no idea about the treatment Russian nationals receive," he said. "We cannot be sure that Yulia's refusal to see us is genuine."

Yulia Skripal is being held in a safe house and has so far refused Russian offers of consular assistance.

Mr Yakovenko also accused the UK of deliberately classifying documents to obfuscate investigations and denied Russia had ever produced Novichok, the deadly nerve agent that Britain has named as the source, which has been backed by the OPCW as one of "high purity."

The UK has placed the blame for the Skripal poisoning firmly at Russian feet, saying it's the only country with the means, motive, and technical ability to carry out the attack on UK soil.

On Friday, UK National Security Adviser Sir Mark Sedwill told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg the UK believes Russian intelligence services were monitoring the Skripals for at least five years before the March 4 poisoning took place.

"We have information indicating Russian intelligence service interest in the Skripals, dating back at least as far as 2013, when email accounts belonging to Yulia Skripal were targeted by GRU cyber specialists," he said, referring to Russia's foreign military intelligence agency.

It comes after UK Prime Minister Theresa May spoke with President Trump and the pair agreed "the Assad regime had established a pattern of dangerous behaviour in relation to the use of chemical weapons."

"They agreed it was vital that the use of chemical weapons did not go unchallenged, and on the need to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regimen," a spokesman said, adding that they were still working on an international response.</s>Gregory Katz and Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press 

 



LONDON -- Russian intelligence agencies monitored the emails of former spy Sergei Skripal's daughter Yulia for at least five years before the two were poisoned, Britain's national security adviser said in a letter made public Friday.

Mark Sedwill made the assertion in a letter to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg explaining Britain's conclusion that the Russian government is to blame for poisoning the Skripals with a military-grade nerve agent on March 4.

He said only Russia has the "technical means, operational experience and the motive" for the attack.

Moscow has strongly denied responsibility and says Britain is waging a defamation campaign against it.

In the letter, Sedwill said the Soviet Union developed fourth generation nerve agents known as Novichoks in the 1980s at the State Institute for Organic Chemistry and Technology near Volgograd under the codeword FOLIANT.

"It is highly likely that Novichoks were developed to prevent detection by the West and to circumvent international chemical weapons controls," he said. "The Russian state has previously produced Novichoks and would still be capable of doing so."

He said that after the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia signed the Chemical Weapons Convention without reporting its ongoing work on Novichoks. He said it was highly unlikely that any former Soviet republic besides Russia pursued an offensive chemical weapons program.

Russia denies the British claims about Novichok, saying that it completed the destruction of all its Soviet-era chemical weapons arsenals last year under international oversight. It insists that the nerve agent used on the Skripals could easily have been manufactured in any of the other countries that have advanced chemical research programs.

Sedwill said Moscow had a proven record of state-sponsored assassinations and had tested ways of delivering chemical weapons, including the use of door handles to spread nerve agents, as Britain believes was done in the Skripal case.

He also said Russia had a clear motive for attacking Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer who had been imprisoned in Russia for spying for Britain only to be set free in a spy swap in 2010.

"It is highly likely that the Russian intelligence services view at least some of its defectors as legitimate targets for assassination," he said. "We have information indicating Russian intelligence service interest in the Skripals, dating back at least as far as 2013, when email accounts belonging to Yulia Skripal were targeted by GRU (military intelligence) cyber specialists."

Russia's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Alexander Yakovenko, dismissed the charges Friday as unfounded and untrue.

Yulia Skripal, 33, was released from the hospital this week. The poisoning happened in the city of Salisbury shortly after she arrived from Moscow for a visit. Her father remains hospitalized but British health officials say he is improving.

Russia has charged that British officials are keeping Skripal's daughter in isolation. It demanded access to her and prodded Britain to share evidence in the case.

Also Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded to an international chemical weapons watchdog's report on the poisoning.

Investigators at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed British findings that the Skripals were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent but didn't say who was responsible.

Lavrov said the report does nothing to back the British allegations that Moscow was behind the attack.

"I want to underline: the OPCW only has confirmed the composition of the chemical agent," Lavrov said at a news conference.</s>INSIDE the luxurious ambassadorial residence in London's Kensington Gardens, an alternate reality exists.

The vast property is home to Russia's top UK diplomat, Alexander Yakovenko, and one of several immaculate buildings on a privately guarded street where diplomats from France, Nepal, Norway, Slovakia and Romania live with a view of Kensington Palace, neighbours to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

But while Russia's top man in London might share the same police guards, 'no photo' signs and manicured gardens as his European compatriots, that is where the similarities end.

Inside the briefing room laden with chandeliers, parquetry floors and gilded oil paintings, Ambassador Yakovenko outlined his concern about the dual crisis that have plunged Western relations with Russia to lows not seen since the Cold War this week to the world's press.

Speaking about the Skripal poisoning and looming decision over air strikes against the Syrian government, he accused humanitarian groups of staging the chemical attack and blasted the UK for a lack of "transparency" during the Salisbury investigation.

"We are very concerned about the decision of the cabinet to 'take action' in Syria," Mr Yakovenko said. "The preparations are being made despite lack of evidence as regards to what happened on the ground."

On the alleged chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma where an estimated 70 people died, he said Russian security services "did not find any traces of chemical substances. No persons treated for chemical poisoning were found in local hospitals."

That's despite the World Health Organisation stating an estimated 500 people presented at medical facilities with the effects of chemical weapons in the area, according to local agencies. The UN has previously found "clear and convincing evidence" chemical weapons were used in Ghouta in 2013.

On the pending decision on air strikes, Mr Yakovenko said military action could be a pretext to "cover up all the evidence or lack thereof on the ground," and likened it to former Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003.

"It's clear that the goal of these unsubstantiated lies … is to discredit the Syrian government and to justify the use of force by external actors."

"We're witnessing very dangerous developments in Syria," he said, adding US policies are becoming a "threat to peace in the region and beyond."

The comments illustrate just how polarised Russian and Western world views have become in a seemingly intractable conflict mired in accusations of misinformation and fake news. With repeated admonishments of "don't twist my words", the Ambassador laid out a view diametrically opposed to that of the UK government, where Russia only wanted "transparency" and was the victim of a Russophobic media agenda against them.

On the case of Yulia and Sergei Skripal, both still recovering from the effects of nerve agent Novichok, Mr Yakovenko questioned whether Yulia's recent statements, made via the Metropolitan police, were done under duress.

"We're not allowed to see our citizens, talk to doctors, we have no idea about the treatment Russian nationals receive," he said. "We cannot be sure that Yulia's refusal to see us is genuine."

Yulia Skripal is being held in a safe house and has so far refused Russian offers of consular assistance.

Mr Yakovenko also accused the UK of deliberately classifying documents to obfuscate investigations and denied Russia had ever produced Novichok, the deadly nerve agent that Britain has named as the source, which has been backed by the OPCW as one of "high purity."

The UK has placed the blame for the Skripal poisoning firmly at Russian feet, saying it's the only country with the means, motive, and technical ability to carry out the attack on UK soil.

On Friday, UK National Security Adviser Sir Mark Sedwill told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg the UK believes Russian intelligence services were monitoring the Skripals for at least five years before the March 4 poisoning took place.

"We have information indicating Russian intelligence service interest in the Skripals, dating back at least as far as 2013, when email accounts belonging to Yulia Skripal were targeted by GRU cyber specialists," he said, referring to Russia's foreign military intelligence agency.

It comes after UK Prime Minister Theresa May spoke with President Trump and the pair agreed "the Assad regime had established a pattern of dangerous behaviour in relation to the use of chemical weapons."

"They agreed it was vital that the use of chemical weapons did not go unchallenged, and on the need to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regimen," a spokesman said, adding that they were still working on an international response.</s>Russia tested nerve agents on door handles and had been examining the emails of Sergei and Yulia Skripal for at least five years, according to a British government dossier on the Salisbury attack that was made public Friday.

The claims were made in a letter from Mark Sedwill, the U.K.’s National Security Advisor, to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. The correspondence was published following repeated calls from the Kremlin to provide evidence that Russia was behind the attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

According to Sedwill, Russia regards some of its defectors as “legitimate targets for assassination.” Skripal, a former double agent, could be such target, which is why Russian cyber specialists had been hacking his family’s email accounts “at least as far [back] as 2013.”

Russia’s ambassador to Britain, Alexander Yakovenko, said in response: “If someone was spying, why were the British services not complaining about that?”

“They always complain if something goes wrong. We didn’t see any signs, any applications from the British side that they are not happy with the way Skripals were living in Salisbury.”

The report also says that the nerve agent used to poison the Skripals was produced in Russia’s Shikhany military research center, which ran a chemical weapons program with the codename Foliant.

The program “included investigation of ways of delivering nerve agents, including by application to door handles.”

Although Russia signed the international Chemical Weapons Convention, it continued to “produce and stockpile small quantities of novichoks [nerve agents],” Sedwill claims in his letter.

“Russia further developed some novichoks after ratifying the convention. In the mid-2000s, President Putin was closely involved in the Russian chemical weapons programme. It is highly unlikely that any former Soviet republic (other than Russia) pursued an offensive chemical weapons programme after independence,” Sedwill wrote, dismissing the Russian Foreign Ministry’s suggestions that novichoks could have originated from Europe.

“We, therefore, continue to judge that only Russia has the technical means, operational experience and motive for the attack on the Skripals and that it is highly likely that the Russian state was responsible. There is no plausible alternative explanation,” the statement concludes.</s>Update - 1.45pm: Russia's ambassador has accused the British authorities of destroying evidence in the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

Alexander Yakovenko said the UK had yet to produce the evidence to back its claims that Russia was responsible for the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.

"The British Government still hasn't produced any evidence in support of its position that would confirm their official version," he told a news conference at the Russian embassy in London.

"We get the impression the British Government is deliberately pursuing the policy of destroying all possible evidence."

Mr Yakovenko complained at the continued refusal of the British authorities to grant consular access to Ms Skripal following her discharge from hospital.

He questioned the authenticity of a statement issued by Ms Skripal through the Metropolitan Police saying she did not want to meet Russian officials.

"We are not allowed to see our citizens, talk to doctors, have no idea about the treatment the Russian nationals receive," he said.

"We cannot be sure that Yulia's refusal to see us is genuine. We have every reason to see such actions as the abduction of two Russian nationals.

"The statement made by Scotland Yard on behalf of Yulia Skripal only confirms our suspicions."

Mr Yakovenko complained they had not received the allegations in Sir Mark Sedwill's letter from the British authorities.

"It is not the right way how the serious people handle these issues," he said.

He described Sir Mark's claim that Russian intelligence had been interested in the Skripals since at least 2013 as a "big surprise".

"If somebody was spying why were the British services not complaining about that because they always complain if something goes wrong in their country or somewhere else," he said.

The ambassador also denied that Russia had ever produced or stockpiled Novichok nerve agents.

"Russia stopped any chemical programmes in 1992. In 2017 we eliminated all the chemical weapons," he said.

"We didn't produce Novichok, we didn't store this Novichok, so-called under the Western classification, was never in our military forces. This is the fact of life."

1.07pm: UK says Russia spied on the Skripals for at least five years

Russian intelligence agencies have been spying on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter for at least five years, Britain has said in the latest twist in the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

Britain's National Security Security Adviser Sir Mark Sedwill said cyber specialists from the GRU - Russian military intelligence - targeted Yulia Skripal's email accounts as far back as 2013.

In a letter to Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Sir Mark also said that in the 2000s the Russians had begun a programme to train personnel from "special units" in the use of chemical warfare agents.

He said that it included investigating ways of delivering nerve agents by applying them to door handles. The strongest concentration of the Novichok nerve agent found in the Salisbury incident was on the front door of Mr Skripal's home.

The claims come after the international Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons backed Britain's assertion the Skripals were poisoned by Novichok - a military grade nerve agent developed by the Russians in the 1980s.

In his letter, Sir Mark set out why the British Government believes that only Russia has the "technical means, operational experience and the motive" to carry out such an attack - including some declassified intelligence material.

He said Russia had a "proven record of conducting state-sponsored assassination" and that it was "highly likely" some defectors - like Mr Skripal, a former GRU officer who was exchanged in a spy swap in 2010 - may be regarded as "legitimate targets".

"We have information indicating Russian intelligence service interest in the Skripals dating back at least as far as 2013, when email accounts belonging to Yulia Skripal were targeted by GRU cyber specialists," he said.

Sir Mark also identified the key institute for developing Novichok in the former Soviet Union as a branch of the State Institute for Organic Chemistry and Technology at Shikany near Volgograd.

"The code word used for the offensive chemical weapons programme (of which the Novichoks were one part) was FOLIANT," he said.

"It is highly likely that Novichoks were developed to prevent detection by the West and to circumvent international weapons controls."

He said that Russia had continued to produce and stockpile small quantities of Novichoks within the last decade.

"We therefore continue to judge that only Russian has the technical means, operational experience and motive for the attack on the Skripals and that it is highly likely that the Russian state was responsible," he said.

"There is no plausible alternative explanation."</s>INSIDE the luxurious ambassadorial residence in London's Kensington Gardens, an alternate reality exists.

The vast property is home to Russia's top UK diplomat, Alexander Yakovenko, and one of several immaculate buildings on a privately guarded street where diplomats from France, Nepal, Norway, Slovakia and Romania live with a view of Kensington Palace, neighbours to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

But while Russia's top man in London might share the same police guards, 'no photo' signs and manicured gardens as his European compatriots, that is where the similarities end.

Inside the briefing room laden with chandeliers, parquetry floors and gilded oil paintings, Ambassador Yakovenko outlined his concern about the dual crisis that have plunged Western relations with Russia to lows not seen since the Cold War this week to the world's press.

Speaking about the Skripal poisoning and looming decision over air strikes against the Syrian government, he accused humanitarian groups of staging the chemical attack and blasted the UK for a lack of "transparency" during the Salisbury investigation.

"We are very concerned about the decision of the cabinet to 'take action' in Syria," Mr Yakovenko said. "The preparations are being made despite lack of evidence as regards to what happened on the ground."

On the alleged chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma where an estimated 70 people died, he said Russian security services "did not find any traces of chemical substances. No persons treated for chemical poisoning were found in local hospitals."

That's despite the World Health Organisation stating an estimated 500 people presented at medical facilities with the effects of chemical weapons in the area, according to local agencies. The UN has previously found "clear and convincing evidence" chemical weapons were used in Ghouta in 2013.

On the pending decision on air strikes, Mr Yakovenko said military action could be a pretext to "cover up all the evidence or lack thereof on the ground," and likened it to former Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003.

"It's clear that the goal of these unsubstantiated lies … is to discredit the Syrian government and to justify the use of force by external actors."

"We're witnessing very dangerous developments in Syria," he said, adding US policies are becoming a "threat to peace in the region and beyond."

The comments illustrate just how polarised Russian and Western world views have become in a seemingly intractable conflict mired in accusations of misinformation and fake news. With repeated admonishments of "don't twist my words", the Ambassador laid out a view diametrically opposed to that of the UK government, where Russia only wanted "transparency" and was the victim of a Russophobic media agenda against them.

On the case of Yulia and Sergei Skripal, both still recovering from the effects of nerve agent Novichok, Mr Yakovenko questioned whether Yulia's recent statements, made via the Metropolitan police, were done under duress.

"We're not allowed to see our citizens, talk to doctors, we have no idea about the treatment Russian nationals receive," he said. "We cannot be sure that Yulia's refusal to see us is genuine."

Yulia Skripal is being held in a safe house and has so far refused Russian offers of consular assistance.

Mr Yakovenko also accused the UK of deliberately classifying documents to obfuscate investigations and denied Russia had ever produced Novichok, the deadly nerve agent that Britain has named as the source, which has been backed by the OPCW as one of "high purity."

The UK has placed the blame for the Skripal poisoning firmly at Russian feet, saying it's the only country with the means, motive, and technical ability to carry out the attack on UK soil.

On Friday, UK National Security Adviser Sir Mark Sedwill told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg the UK believes Russian intelligence services were monitoring the Skripals for at least five years before the March 4 poisoning took place.

"We have information indicating Russian intelligence service interest in the Skripals, dating back at least as far as 2013, when email accounts belonging to Yulia Skripal were targeted by GRU cyber specialists," he said, referring to Russia's foreign military intelligence agency.

It comes after UK Prime Minister Theresa May spoke with President Trump and the pair agreed "the Assad regime had established a pattern of dangerous behaviour in relation to the use of chemical weapons."

"They agreed it was vital that the use of chemical weapons did not go unchallenged, and on the need to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regimen," a spokesman said, adding that they were still working on an international response.</s>It insists the nerve agent used on the Skripals could easily have been manufactured in any of the other countries that have advanced chemical research programs.

Sedwill said Moscow had a proven record of state-sponsored assassinations and had tested ways of delivering chemical weapons, including the use of door handles to spread nerve agents, as Britain believes was done in the Skripal case.

He also said Russia had a clear motive for attacking Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer who had been imprisoned in Russia for spying for Britain only to be set free in a spy swap in 2010.

"It is highly likely that the Russian intelligence services view at least some of its defectors as legitimate targets for assassination," he said.

"We have information indicating Russian intelligence service interest in the Skripals, dating back at least as far as 2013, when email accounts belonging to Yulia Skripal were targeted by GRU (military intelligence) cyber specialists."

Russia's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Alexander Yakovenko, dismissed the charges Friday as unfounded and untrue.

Yulia Skripal, 33, was released from the hospital this week.

The poisoning happened in the city of Salisbury shortly after she arrived from Moscow for a visit. Her father remains in hospital but British health officials say he is improving.

Russia has charged that British officials are keeping Skripal's daughter in isolation. It demanded access to her and prodded Britain to share evidence in the case.

Also Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded to an international chemical weapons watchdog's report on the poisoning.

Investigators at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed British findings that the Skripals were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent but didn't say who was responsible.

Lavrov said the report does nothing to back the British allegations that Moscow was behind the attack.

"I want to underline: the OPCW only has confirmed the composition of the chemical agent," Lavrov said at a news conference.</s>An explosive U.K. intelligence dossier made public Friday claims Russia tested the use of door handles as a way to infect people with nerve agents before an ex-spy and his daughter were poisoned exactly that way last month.

In a letter to NATO, the United Kingdom’s national security chief, Sir Mark Sedwill, said the Kremlin set up a program in the 2000s under the code name Foliant that tested the means for delivering chemical warfare agents and to “train personnel from special units in the use of these weapons.”

“This program subsequently included investigation of ways of delivering nerve agents, including by application to door handles,” he wrote, according to the Guardian. “Within the last decade, Russia has produced and stockpiled small quantities of novichok under the same program.”

DAUGHTER OF POISONED SPY SERGEI SKRIPAL TURNS DOWN RUSSIAN HELP

U.K. officials have said Sergei Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia, were poisoned when they came in contact with a chemical nerve agent at his home in Salisbury on March 4. Samples taken from the home found a high concentration of the nerve agent – believed to be Soviet-produced novichock – on the door handles.

The letter, which was directed to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenbeg, emphasized England’s belief Russia is responsible for poisoning the Skripals. Russia has denied all involvement.

Additionally, Sedwill wrote evidence was discovered showing Russian military intelligence had targeted the email accounts of both victims since at least 2013.

He said Russia regarded at least some of its defectors as “legitimate targets for assassination,” with the suggestion Sergei Skripal — a former member of Russian military intelligence sent to prison in 2004 after working with the U.K. — was on the list.

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“We have information indicating Russian intelligence service interest in the Skripals, dating back at least as far as 2013, when e-mail accounts belong to Yulia were targeted by GRU cyber specialists,” Sedwill wrote.

At a press conference arranged before the letter’s release, Russian ambassador to the U.K. Alexander Yakovenko said he was not familiar with the latest allegations.

“If somebody was spying, why were the British services not complaining about that,” he said, according to Sky News. “We didn’t hear any signs, any applications from the British side.”

The letter was made public a day after investigators at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed British findings that the Skripals were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent. The watchdog did not say who was responsible for the poisoning.

On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the report does nothing to back the British allegations that Moscow was behind the attack, which Moscow denies.

“I want to underline: the OPCW only has confirmed the composition of the chemical agent,” Lavrov said at a news conference.

Yulia Skripal, 33, has been released from the hospital. Her father remains in the hospital but British health officials say he is improving.

Russia has charged that British officials were keeping Skripal’s daughter in isolation. It demanded access to her and prodded Britain to share evidence in the case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sir Mark Sedwill, national security advisor to the United Kingdom, says Russian intelligence targeted Yulia Skripal's email account.