Ex-spy poisoning ‘not an issue’

MOSCOW: The poisoning in Britain of a former Russian double agent is in "no way" an issue for Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, while confirming the hospitalised man is a Russian citizen.

"This is not our issue," President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists when asked to comment on reports in British media blaming Russia for the poisoning of 66-year-old Sergei Skripal with a nerve agent.

"The Russian citizen you mention... worked for one of Britain’s special services, the incident took place on British territory, and it is in no way an issue for Russia, let alone for the Russian leadership," he said.

Skripal, who collapsed from exposure to the substance in the city of Salisbury on March 4 together with his daughter, was convicted by a Russian tribunal for selling secrets to MI6 prior to being exchanged in a spy swap in 2010 and has lived in Britain since. —AFP