MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow wants a thorough probe into the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in Britain and will demand to be part of it.
Putin, speaking Tuesday in Ankara after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, cited the head of Britain’s defense laboratory who said that its scientists have not identified the precise source of the nerve agent used to attack former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
Putin said, given the lack of precise information about the agent’s origin, “the speed at which the anti-Russian campaign has been launched causes bewilderment.”
Britain has blamed Russia for the poisoning, the accusations Russia vehemently denied. Both the West and Russia have expelled over 150 envoys each in the dispute.
Putin said the type of the nerve agent used in the March 4 poisoning could be made in some 20 nations.
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