Kremlin: Britain could ask to interrogate poisoning suspects

Russia is ready to consider a request by British investigators to come and interrogate the two men accused of poisoning a former spy, the Kremlin said Friday.

Britain charged Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov last week with trying to kill double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, with the Soviet-designed nerve agent Novichok.

The Skripals survived the March 4 attack in Salisbury, but a local resident later died after apparently having contact with the poison.

Petrov and Boshirov appeared Thursday on the state-funded RT channel, saying they visited Salisbury as tourists and had nothing to do with the poisoning.

They denied the British claim that they were Russian military intelligence officers, saying they work in the nutritional supplements business.

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Friday that Russian authorities will consider Britain's request to interrogate them if it comes.

He added that Britain has stonewalled repeated Russian offers to conduct a joint inquiry.

"There is a mechanism of legal assistance regulated by bilateral documents and international law," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

"If we receive a formal request from London, it will certainly be considered by the Russian side in strict conformity with the law."
He added that "from the very beginning, Russia has emphasized its desire to cooperate to clarify the circumstances of what happened in Salisbury and track down the culprits," but "the British side has strongly rejected such cooperation."
James Slack, spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May, on Thursday derided their claims as "lies and blatant fabrications."