As the committee specified, they were ready to cooperate with British colleagues to investigate both crimes.

Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, residing in the United Kingdom, and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury after being exposed to what British experts have recognized as Novichok, a Soviet-made nerve agent. Both still remain in a coma.

According to the latest reports from the UK intelligence, the nerve agent might have been sent in his daughter's suitcase in Moscow.

READ MORE: UK Intelligence: Novichok Was Planted in Luggage of Skripal's Daughter - Reports

Following the attack, UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday said Russia was "highly likely" responsible for it and announced that 23 Russian diplomats "identified as undeclared intelligence officers" would be expelled and given one week to leave. Moscow has promised to react reciprocally.

Responding to these accusations, the Russian Foreign Ministry refuted all the allegations and delivered a note, requesting a joint investigation into the case, to the UK Foreign Office. The proposal, however, was ignored by the British side.

READ MORE: UK, Russia Have to Move Beyond Setbacks Caused by Skripal Incident - UK Peer

Sergei Skripal was charged in Russia in 2006 for transferring secret information to the UK's MI-6 and was allowed to move to the United Kingdom in 2010 under a spy swap between the countries. The former agent has lived there for eight years.

WATCH: CCTV Footage of Skripal Right Before He Was Found Poisoned

Nikolai Glushkov, the partner of deceased Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, convicted in absentia in Russia to eight years in prison for theft from the country's flagship airline Aeroflot, was recently found dead in his London home. Scotland Yard reported that at this stage the investigation considers the death of to man to be "unexplained." The investigation is currently underway.

READ MORE: Russian Fugitive Ex-Businessman Dies in London at 68

Svetlana Petrenko, spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee told reporters on Friday that a criminal case had been opened into his murder in Russia.

"A criminal case has been opened ... into the murder of Russian citizen Nikolai Glushkov in London," she said.

READ MORE: UK Probe Into Death of Former Aeroflot Top Manager Non-Transparent - Embassy

According to the committee, in the 1990s, Berezovsky created his "lobby" group in the management of Aeroflot, putting in place people from the structures under his control. Among them was the first deputy general director of Aeroflot Glushkov, deputy general director for commercial issues Alexander Krasnenker and others.

They promoted a number of decisions on the placement of funds and took out loans from Swiss firms controlled by Berezovsky and Glushkov, which resulted in hundreds of millions of rubles being stolen, the investigation believes.</s>
• Four world leaders have issued a joint statement blaming Russia for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, the former double agent who fell ill with his daughter in England.
• The leaders say there is “no plausible alternative explanation” to Russia being to blame.
• The statement follows days of diplomacy by UK Prime Minister Theresa May and comes amid a meeting by NATO to discuss the crisis.

LONDON — The leaders of United States, Britain, France, and Germany have released a joint statement condemning Russia for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in England last week.

US President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that there was “no plausible alternative explanation” than that Russia was to blame for the attack.

The leaders called on Russia to “live up to its responsibilities as a member of the UN Security Council,” adding that Russia’s actions “threaten the security of us all.”

The statement marks a significant ramping up of tensions with Russia and comes as members of the NATO military alliance meet to discuss the crisis.

It came after several days of diplomacy by May following initial reluctance by the French and US governments to publicly blame Russia for the incident, in which Skripal and his daughter were poisoned by what was identified as a Russia-developed nerve agent.

On Wednesday, May announced that Britain would expel 23 Russian diplomats from the UK in response to the attack.

Britain is also set to freeze the accounts of people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and suspend all high-level contact with the Russian government.

On Thursday, UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said Russia should “shut up” and “go away” and suggested that Britain was in a “chilly” war with the country.

“We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom, abhor the attack that took place against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, UK, on 4 March 2018. A British police officer who was also exposed in the attack remains seriously ill, and the lives of many innocent British citizens have been threatened. We express our sympathies to them all, and our admiration for the UK police and emergency services for their courageous response.”This use of a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War. It is an assault on UK sovereignty and any such use by a State party is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law. It threatens the security of us all. The United Kingdom briefed thoroughly its allies that it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attack. We share the UK assessment that there is no plausible alternative explanation, and note that Russia’s failure to address the legitimate request by the UK government further underlines its responsibility.”We call on Russia to address all questions related to the attack in Salisbury. Russia should in particular provide full and complete disclosure of the Novichok programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Our concerns are also heightened against the background of a pattern of earlier irresponsible Russian behaviour. We call on Russia to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the UN Security Council to uphold international peace and security.”

This article was originally published by “Business Insider” –

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Information Clearing House.

In case you missed it: U.S. had access to ”Novichok,” formula since 1999: Does anyone believe that they were unable to reproduce it?</s>MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador to Russia on Saturday in a deepening geopolitical dispute over a nerve agent attack on a former spy in Britain.

Russia is expected to announce the expulsion of British diplomats and possibly other measures in a retaliatory move. British Prime Minister Theresa May this week ordered 23 Russian diplomats expelled to punish Russia over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the city of Salisbury.

British Ambassador Laurie Bristow is expected at the Russian Foreign Ministry late Saturday morning.

Britain's foreign secretary accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of personally ordering the poisoning of the Skripals, who remain hospitalized in critical condition after the March 4 attack. Putin's spokesman denounced the claim.

While Russia has vigorously denied involvement in the attack, Western powers see it as the latest sign of alleged Russian meddling abroad. The tensions threaten to overshadow Putin's expected re-election Sunday for another six-year presidential term.

Meanwhile new tensions have surfaced over the death this week of a London-based Russian businessman, Nikolai Glushkov. British police said Friday that he died from compression to the neck and opened a murder investigation.

Russia also suspects foul play in Glushkov's death and opened its own inquiry Friday.

British police said there is no apparent link between the attack on Glushkov and the poisoning of the Skripals, but both have raised alarm in the West at a time when Russia is increasingly assertive on the global stage and facing investigations over alleged interference in the Donald Trump's election as U.S. president.

The source of the nerve agent — which Britain says is Soviet-made Novichok — is unclear, as is the way it was administered. Russia has demanded that Britain share samples collected by investigators.

Top EU diplomats were expected to discuss next steps at a meeting Monday, with some calling for a boycott of the upcoming World Cup in Russia. British Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking a global coalition of countries to punish Moscow.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador to Russia today in a deepening geopolitical dispute over a nerve agent attack on a former spy in Britain. Russia is expected to announce the expulsion of British diplomats and possibly other measures in a retaliatory move. British Prime Minister Theresa May this week ordered 23 Russian diplomats expelled to punish Russia over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the city of Salisbury.

British Ambassador Laurie Bristow is expected at the Russian Foreign Ministry late today morning.

Britain’s foreign secretary accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of personally ordering the poisoning of the Skripals, who remain hospitalised in critical condition after the March 4 attack. Putin’s spokesman denounced the claim.

While Russia has vigorously denied involvement in the attack, Western powers see it as the latest sign of alleged Russian meddling abroad. The tensions threaten to overshadow Putin’s expected re-election tomorrow for another six-year presidential term.

Meanwhile new tensions have surfaced over the death this week of a London-based Russian businessman, Nikolai Glushkov. British police said yesterday that he died from compression to the neck and opened a murder investigation.

Russia also suspects foul play in Glushkov’s death and opened its own inquiry yesterday.

British police said there is no apparent link between the attack on Glushkov and the poisoning of the Skripals, but both have raised alarm in the West at a time when Russia is increasingly assertive on the global stage and facing investigations over alleged interference in the Donald Trump’s election as US president.

The source of the nerve agent, which Britain says is Soviet-made Novichok, is unclear, as is the way it was administered. Russia has demanded that Britain share samples collected by investigators.

Top EU diplomats were expected to discuss next steps at a meeting Monday, with some calling for a boycott of the upcoming World Cup in Russia. British Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking a global coalition of countries to punish Moscow.</s>Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador to Russia today in a deepening geopolitical dispute over a nerve agent attack on a former spy in Britain. Russia is expected to announce the expulsion of British diplomats and possibly other measures in a retaliatory move. British Prime Minister Theresa May this week ordered 23 Russian diplomats expelled to punish Russia over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the city of Salisbury. British Ambassador Laurie Bristow is expected at the Russian Foreign Ministry late today morning.

Britain’s foreign secretary accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of personally ordering the poisoning of the Skripals, who remain hospitalised in critical condition after the March 4 attack. Putin’s spokesman denounced the claim.

While Russia has vigorously denied involvement in the attack, Western powers see it as the latest sign of alleged Russian meddling abroad. The tensions threaten to overshadow Putin’s expected re-election tomorrow for another six-year presidential term.

Meanwhile new tensions have surfaced over the death this week of a London-based Russian businessman, Nikolai Glushkov. British police said yesterday that he died from compression to the neck and opened a murder investigation. Russia also suspects foul play in Glushkov’s death and opened its own inquiry yesterday.

British police said there is no apparent link between the attack on Glushkov and the poisoning of the Skripals, but both have raised alarm in the West at a time when Russia is increasingly assertive on the global stage and facing investigations over alleged interference in the Donald Trump’s election as US president.

The source of the nerve agent, which Britain says is Soviet-made Novichok, is unclear, as is the way it was administered. Russia has demanded that Britain share samples collected by investigators.

Top EU diplomats were expected to discuss next steps at a meeting Monday, with some calling for a boycott of the upcoming World Cup in Russia. British Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking a global coalition of countries to punish Moscow.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>Britain’s top envoy has warned Russia’s alleged involvement in the nerve agent poisoning of a former spy is “a challenge to all of us” as the Turnbull government considers its own possible sanctions against Moscow.

Acting high commissioner Ingrid Southworth raised the deaths of Australians in the shooting down of flight MH17 by Moscow-backed Ukrainian separatists as she thanked the Turnbull government for a firm statement of condemnation over the poisoning and said Britain will “work very closely” with Australian officials as they consider punitive action.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a joint statement on Thursday that it supported Britain “in the strongest terms” and warned that “Australia is considering its responses in support of the United Kingdom”.

Both the British and Australian governments have repeatedly said they are consulting closely on responses to the poisoning, raising the prospect that Canberra will take out its own measures against Moscow along with others countries that are rallying around Britain over the unprecedented use of a chemical weapon on British soil.

Ms Southworth said the use of a Russian-made, military-grade nerve agent to poison former agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia was part of a pattern of behaviour by Moscow.</s>Image copyright Facebook Image caption Russian businessman Nikolai Glushkov was found dead at his home on March 12

UK police have launched a murder investigation after the death of Russian businessman Nikolai Glushkov in south-west London.

Mr Glushkov was found dead at his home in New Malden on 12 March.

A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Glushkov, who was 68, died from "compression to the neck".

There is, at this stage, no evidence linking the death to the attempted murder of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Salisbury, police say.

Detectives are retaining an open mind and are appealing for any information that will assist the investigation.

In particular, they are appealing for anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious at or near his home in Clarence Avenue, New Malden, between Sunday 11 March and Monday 12 March to contact them.

Police on Friday continued to guard the home lived in by Mr Glushkov. A blue and a purple tent was erected to cover the front drive of the property, which has been cordoned off along with several adjoining properties either side.

Mr Glushkov is the former deputy director of Russian state airline Aeroflot.

He was jailed in 1999 for five years after being charged with money laundering and fraud.

After being given a suspended sentence for another count of fraud in 2006, he was granted political asylum in the UK in 2010 and became a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Former PR and advertising executive Lord Bell, who was a close friend of Mr Glushkov, described him as a "very charming, funny, affectionate man who had a troubled past".

He said he was "concerned" his friend's past might have made Russia consider him to have worked against the state.

Kate Fitzsimmons, an 87-year-old neighbour of Mr Glushkov, said he was "just an ordinary friendly Englishman" who would wave at her across the road.

She said his death and the subsequent police activity was a "big shock".

Mr Glushkov had a close friendship with fellow Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky, who came to the UK in 1999 after falling out with Mr Putin.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Detectives are appealing for witnesses who were in the New Malden area on 11 March and 12 March

Mr Berezovsky was found hanged in the bathroom of his Berkshire home in 2013 and an inquest recorded an open verdict.

Meanwhile, Russia's investigative committee has said it has opened a criminal case investigation into "the murder" of Mr Glushkov and the "attempted murder" of Yulia Skripal.

Ms Skripal and her father, the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury earlier this month after being exposed to a nerve agent.

The UK government says the Skripals were poisoned with a nerve agent of a type developed by Russia called Novichok, and Prime Minister Theresa May said she believed Moscow was "culpable".

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson added it was "overwhelmingly likely" that Mr Putin personally ordered the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

Analysis

By BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw

What is significant about this case is that counter-terrorism police are investigating this murder - normally it would be done by a homicide team.

Scotland Yard says that is being done as a precaution because of his associations - he was a friend of Mr Berezovsky, who died in slightly mysterious circumstances, and Mr Glushkov said before he died he not believe his friend's death was a suicide.

He was also wanted by the Russian Federation. He was on a list of people the British had refused to extradite.

In Russia, he was facing charges including large-scale fraud and embezzling money relating to Aeroflot.

Speaking during a visit to a west London military museum with the Polish foreign minister, Mr Johnson said the UK's "quarrel is with Putin's Kremlin".

"We think it overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision to direct the use of a nerve agent on the streets of the UK, on the streets of Europe, for the first time since the Second World War," he said.

Mr Glushkov's death comes in the same week as Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced that a string of deaths on UK soil are to be reinvestigated by the police and MI5 after claims of Russian involvement.

BuzzFeed News claimed to have evidence of 14 deaths that were actually murders by the Russian state or mafia allies.

In each of the cases, police investigations and inquests did not find evidence of any crime.</s>London (AFP) - Here are the main developments since the poisoning of a Russian former double agent in England sparked soaring diplomatic tensions between London and Moscow.

On March 4 spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, are found unconscious, slumped on a bench outside a shopping centre in Salisbury. They are currently in critical condition in a local hospital.

Skripal is a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who was jailed in his country for betraying agents to Britain's MI6 secret service and moved there in a spy swap in 2010.

On March 7 police say that the father and daughter have been poisoned by a highly toxic nerve agent.

On March 12 British Prime Minister Theresa May says it is "highly likely that Russia was responsible for the act", saying Moscow could be directly to blame or may have "lost control" of the nerve agent.

She tells British lawmakers that the military-grade nerve agent used was identified as belonging to a group of nerve agents known as Novichok and of a type developed by Russia.

Called "newcomer" in English, Novichok refers to a group of powerful and deadly chemical compounds reportedly developed by the Soviet government towards the end of the Cold War in the 1970s and 1980s.

The US says it stands "in solidarity" with Britain. France and Germany make similar statements the following day.

On March 13 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that Moscow is "not guilty" of the poisoning and is ready to cooperate with London.

Two days later Lavrov's deputy Sergei Ryabkov says Moscow never had any programmes to develop the Novichok nerve agent.

On March 14 London says that Moscow is "culpable" and it will expel 23 of the 59 Russian diplomats present in the United Kingdom.

It also suspends high-level diplomatic contact with Moscow and will keep royals at home during the 2018 football World Cup.

Russia's foreign ministry slams London's "choice for confrontation", adding that retaliation will follow shortly.

On March 15 Britain, France, Germany and the US say in a rare joint declaration that "there is no plausible alternative explanation" to Russian involvement and call on Moscow to provide "full and complete disclosure" of the Soviet-era chemical programme that developed Novichok.

The 29-member NATO alliance expresses solidarity with Britain over what it calls the first offensive use of a nerve agent on the military alliance's territory since World War II.

On March 16 British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says it is "overwhelmingly likely" that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind the poisoning. The Kremlin says the accusation is "unforgivable".

The European Union's 28 national leaders are to discuss the attack at a Brussels summit on March 22-23, with president Donald Tusk saying the bloc would send a "clear message." However German Chancellor Angela Merkel says that the EU will not in the first instance discuss a boycott of the World Cup.

Russia opens a probe into the "attempted premeditated murder" of Yulia Skripal.

It also says it has begun a separate probe into the suspected murder of a Russian living in London, Nikolai Glushkov. On the same day the British police launch a murder probe into Glushkov's death.

On March 17, on the eve of the election which is widely expected to give Putin a fourth term, Russia says it will expel 23 British diplomats and halt the activities of the British Council in Russia following London's "provocative" measures.</s>Spy Poisoning: Former Russian MP Points Finger Of Blame To UK

Pro-Kremlin analyst Sergei Markov has claimed Russia had nothing to do with the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter and instead pointed the finger of blame to British Intelligence.

As the row intensifies over the poisoning of the ex-spy and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury a former Russian MP has made a series of allegations against the UK.

Sergei Markov was speaking to Matt Frei on LBC.

He said: “British authority are trying to falsify the investigation into the poisoning."

“Please re-establish your control,” he added as he accused the UK of “playing political games”.

Asked by Matt if he was pointing the finger of blame at the British Intelligence authority Mr Markov said: “Absolutely correct.”

The exchanges between Matt and Sergei Markov followed news that Russia was expelling 23 British diplomats - believed to be intelligence officers.

Speaking earlier this week Theresa May said the "reckless and despicable act" represented an "unlawful use of force by the Russian state against the UK" as she vowed a "full and robust response".

Russia has continued to deny possessing the deadly nerve agent novichok.

Sergei Markov is the director of the Kremlin-supporting Institute of Political Studies in Moscow.</s>MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador to Russia on Saturday in a deepening geopolitical dispute over a nerve agent attack on a former spy in Britain.

Russia is expected to announce the expulsion of British diplomats and possibly other measures in a retaliatory move. British Prime Minister Theresa May this week ordered 23 Russian diplomats expelled to punish Russia over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the city of Salisbury.

British Ambassador Laurie Bristow is expected at the Russian Foreign Ministry late Saturday morning.

Britain’s foreign secretary accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of personally ordering the poisoning of the Skripals, who remain hospitalized in critical condition after the March 4 attack. Putin’s spokesman denounced the claim.

While Russia has vigorously denied involvement in the attack, Western powers see it as the latest sign of alleged Russian meddling abroad. The tensions threaten to overshadow Putin’s expected re-election Sunday for another six-year presidential term.

Meanwhile new tensions have surfaced over the death this week of a London-based Russian businessman, Nikolai Glushkov. British police said Friday that he died from compression to the neck and opened a murder investigation.

Russia also suspects foul play in Glushkov’s death and opened its own inquiry Friday.

British police said there is no apparent link between the attack on Glushkov and the poisoning of the Skripals, but both have raised alarm in the West at a time when Russia is increasingly assertive on the global stage and facing investigations over alleged interference in the Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president.

The source of the nerve agent — which Britain says is Soviet-made Novichok — is unclear, as is the way it was administered. Russia has demanded that Britain share samples collected by investigators.

Top EU diplomats were expected to discuss next steps at a meeting Monday, with some calling for a boycott of the upcoming World Cup in Russia. British Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking a global coalition of countries to punish Moscow.
The death of Russian businessman Nikolai Glushkov, who lived in exile in the United Kingdom, is confirmed by a coroner's examination to be a murder. The killing happened eight days after the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.