Putin: Skripal attack should not affect UK-Russia relations

Russian president says the Salisbury poisonings are not worth ‘all this fuss’

Marc Bennetts in Moscow
Thu 27 Jun 2019 23.11 BST
Last modified on Thu 27 Jun 2019 23.47 BST

Vladimir Putin has said ahead of his meeting with Theresa May at the G20 summit in Japan that relations between Britain and Russia should not suffer because of last year’s nerve agent attack on the former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

“All this fuss about spies and counterspies is not worth interstate relations. This spy story, as we say here, is not worth 5 kopecks,” Putin told the Financial Times in an interview in the Kremlin. “I think Russia and UK are both interested in fully restoring our relations – at least I hope a few preliminary steps will be taken.”

Bilateral ties between Britain and Russia plummeted to a post-Cold War low last year when London accused Moscow of the poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury.

The Kremlin denies sending GRU military intelligence agents to Britain to carry out the attack, which triggered scores of diplomatic expulsions between Moscow and western countries.

“The average person listens and says ‘who are these Skripals?’” Putin said. “Treason is the gravest crime possible and traitors must be punished. I am not saying that the Salisbury incident is the way to do it … but traitors must be punished.” Putin has previously called Skripal a “scumbag.”

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