Unclear about Yulia Skripal's exact situation: Russia

A video address by Yulia Skripal, who was allegedly poisoned along with her father, a former Russian spy, raises questions about her exact situation and state, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.

"It remains unclear in what condition Yulia Skripal is now and whether she can freely communicate with the outside world," the ministry's spokesman Artyom Kozhin told a weekly news conference on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said that Moscow urges Britain to honour its international legal obligations and grant Russian diplomats access to Yulia in order to remove doubts about her freedom to act and make decisions for herself.

Kozhin also reproached London for twice denying an entry visa to Yulia's cousin Victoria, who wanted to travel to Britain to visit and support her relatives.

Yulia, 33, daughter of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer, was found unconscious together with her father on a bench at a shopping centre in Salisbury, Britain, on March 5.

Many Western countries accused Moscow of poisoning them with a nerve agent and then expelled a large number of Russian diplomats, incurring tit-for-tat retaliation from Moscow.

Moscow has denied any involvement in the case and demanded direct participation in the investigation.

Both the farther and the daughter have been discharged from the hospital after a period of treatment and their whereabouts remain unknown.

On May 23, Yulia made a video address in which she said that she planned to return to Russia one day, but stated her unwillingness to use the help offered by the Russian Embassy to Britain.

Russia is ready to provide Yulia with all necessary assistance for her return home, Kozhin said at the news conference.

However, British authorities keep avoiding direct communication with Russia, denying Moscow access to the investigation, creating an atmosphere of secrecy and controlling information through the media, he said.

"We will continue to demand from London exhaustive answers to all our questions that we have raised with the British side in connection with its inspired provocation in Salisbury," Kozhin said.

--IANS

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