MOSCOW. March 16 (Interfax) - The United Kingdom could obtain the Novichok nerve agent from the United States, which has possessed the technology for its manufacturing since the 1990s, because they joined the shutdown of a Soviet chemical plant in Uzbekistan, where this agent was produced, State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee deputy head Alexei Chepa said.
"In the early 1990s specialized American companies joined the closure of an enterprise in Nukus, Uzbekistan, where this chemical weapon [Novichok] was being developed. The Americans had access not only to the technology, but also had access to these developments. Their NATO partners from Britain also most apparently had access to this," Chepa told Interfax on Thursday.
It was exactly that enterprise, which has produced Novichok in the USSR, he said.
"So, they obtained access to the technology and samples of this substance," Chepa said.
The support to the U.S. and Britain from France and Germany, their European NATO partners, in this issue once again stresses their biased, groundless accusations currently voiced by the British leadership against Russia, the parliamentarian said.
"The fact that NATO partners have backed the U.S. and Britain today, once again underlines their biased attitude. We had no motivation to poison this man, we treated this man absolutely calmly, we were not interested in him," Chepa said.
There are a lot of details, which make it clear for specialists that Russia is not involved in this, he said.
Skripal's relatives underwent treatment in Russia, he said. "Should he pose a threat for us, they [relatives] would have never and under no conditions travelled to Russia, this is as clear as two and two for any special service," Chepa said.
Besides, he believes that British nationals have been intimidated with photos from the former GRU officer poisoning site in Salisbury; photos are looking like staging the incident.
All this resembles chemical attacks staged in Syria, he said.