MOSCOW. June 7 (Interfax) - The Russian embassy in the United Kingdom is surprised and baffled by the British police's statement about the existence of a number of lines of inquiry in the investigation into the attack on former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
"We are puzzled by the Metropolitan Police statement quoting Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, who said that 'there are still a number of lines of inquiry being progressed.' All of this attests to the fact that the British political leadership hurried to make allegations before any facts were established and now the police have to follow the line imposed by the government - apparently to no avail," the embassy said on Wednesday.
The embassy said it still gets information about the investigation from the media rather than via official channels. "The British authorities have been persistently ignoring our requests, and there have been many, and refusing cooperation and direct contacts with us," it said.
"We are surprised that the investigation, which has involved 250 detectives, made 176 searches, taken more than 900 witness statements, viewed over 4,000 hours of CCTV footage, recovered over 2,300 exhibits, etc., has failed to establish the circle of suspects. The absence of suspects was confirmed by Prime Minister's National Security Adviser Sir Mark Sedwill at the Commons Defence Committee on 1 May. And for all that, the unfounded accusations against Russia still remain," the embassy said.
"We confirm that the Russian side is ready to cooperate on the investigation of the Salisbury incident and remind the British side about the mutual legal assistance request filed by the Russian General Prosecutor's Office," it said.