Russia denies knowledge of poisoning suspects, says UK ‘manipulating information’

Moscow is accusing British authorities of manipulating information after London blamed two Russians for a nerve agent attack on a former spy in the city of Salisbury in March.

“We once again call on the British side to switch from public accusations and manipulating information to practical cooperation through law enforcement agencies,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, Russian news agencies reported.

Zakharova says the names of the men and their photos “say nothing to us.” She calls on Britain to cooperate with Russian law enforcement agencies on the investigation.

Earlier today, British prosecutors charged two Russian men with the nerve agent poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia earlier this year. UK police say the men flew from Moscow to London two days before the Skripals were poisoned on Russian passports but that it believes that the names were aliases.

— Agencies