THE HAGUE. April 19 (Interfax) - The explanations by representatives of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) as to why the toxic agent BZ was present in the samples collected from Sergei and Yulia Skripal do not satisfy Russia, Viktor Kholstov, the head of the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry's analytical research center for chemical and biological weapons conventions, said following an OPCW Executive Council meeting.
"The Russian delegation did not accept the statement made by the director-general and the laboratory head regarding the precursor BZ, and we plan to continue working together with the [OPCW] Technical Secretariat to clarify [questions about] the presence of BZ in the samples and get the full picture," Kholstov said at a news briefing.
During the OPCW Executive Council session, the Russian delegation asked for explanations of the presence of BZ in the Skripals' samples that were analyzed in OPCW labs, he said.
"In reply to this, both the [OPCW] director-general, Mr. [Ahmet] Uzumcu, and the head of the OPCW Technical Secretariat lab confirmed that BZ was indeed present in the samples, and they said by way of explanation that BZ was necessary to certify the labs chosen and designated to conduct the analysis," Kholstov said.
This explanation seems doubtful to Russia, as the labs designated to analyze Sergei and Yulia Skripal's samples already had the necessary OPCW certificate, he said.
"Why was it necessary to add precisely this Schedule 2 toxic chemical to the samples analyzed as part of criminal proceedings related to an investigation into the use of toxic chemicals against people?" Kholstov said.
As is seen from the OPCW report, Sergei and Yulia Skripal's clinical manifestations of poisoning were different from those of British policeman Nick Bailey, who was hospitalized after coming into contact with the two, Kholstov said.
"The report says that after cholinesterase was detected in the victim's system, no increased levels of cholinesterase were detected in the father and daughter Skripal. Significant cholinesterase inhibition was detected. But after a cholinesterase reactivator was administered to Sergeant Bailey, this increased his cholinesterase status, and he therefore quickly recovered," Kholstov said.