Page 11 - ARUBA TODAY

A11
WORLD NEWS Friday 14 September 2018

Russian suspects in poisoning: We were in UK as tourists

By JIM HEINTZ an investigating police of-
JILL LAWLESS ficer also was hospitalized
MOSCOW (AP) — The two for about three weeks. In
Russian men spun an un- June, two area residents
likely tale of hapless tour- who apparently came
ists defeated by grim Brit- across a discarded vial that
ish weather: They traveled contained the poison fell
more than 1,000 miles to ill, and one of them died.
see England's famed Salis- Britain identified the Rus-
bury Cathedral but were sian suspects last week and
turned back by slush and released security-camera
snow, then returned the photos of them in Salisbury
next day and spent two on March 3 and 4. The sur-
hours exploring the "beauti- prise TV appearance by
ful" city. Petrov and Boshirov came
British officials had a more a day after President Vladi-
sinister explanation: Al- mir Putin said Russian au-
exander Petrov and Rus- thorities know the identities
lan Boshirov were highly of the two men but insisted
trained military intelligence that they were civilians and
agents sent by the Krem- there is "nothing criminal"
lin to Salisbury to smear a In this video grab provided by the RT channel , Ruslan Boshirov, left, and Alexander Petrov attend about them. He urged to
their first public appearance in an interview with the Kremlin-funded RT channel in Moscow, Russia,
deadly nerve agent on the Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. contact the media, and
front door of a former Rus- Associated Press Petrov said he heard Pu-
sian spy. tin's statement on the radio
Petrov and Boshirov, both known as the GRU, and say is famous for its 123-meter almost certainly approved and contacted Margarita
charged in absentia by they were merely tourists in spire." "at a senior level of the Rus- Simonyan, RT's editor-in-
Britain last week for trying the city southwest of Lon- James Slack, spokesman sian state," an allegation chief who conducted the
to kill Sergei Skripal and his don. for British Prime Minister that Moscow has vehe- interview. Petrov said that
daughter, Yulia, with the "Our friends had been sug- Theresa May, derided their mently denied. on their first trip to Salisbury,
nerve agent Novichok, gesting for quite a long claims as "lies and blatant Skripal, a Russian military they were unable to make
went on the Kremlin-fund- time that we visit this won- fabrications." intelligence officer turned it from the train station to
ed RT satellite channel derful city," Petrov said in "More importantly, they are double agent for Britain, the cathedral — about 800
Thursday to proclaim their the interview. deeply offensive to the vic- and his visiting daughter meters (half a mile) — be-
innocence, deny they "They have a famous ca- tims and loved ones of this fell ill March 4 from what cause of snow and slush.
were agents of the military thedral there," Boshirov horrific attack," he said. Britain says was a Soviet- Much of Britain suffered
intelligence service widely said, adding studiously: "It Britain said the attack was developed nerve agent; such weather that day.q