The Latest: Russia says spy claims are British posturing

MOSCOW — The Latest on the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in England (all times local):

12:55 p.m.

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman says the accusations of Moscow’s involvement in the poisoning of an ex-spy have been driven by domestic policy factors in Britain.

Maria Zakharova said Thursday British Prime Minister Theresa May apparently was “aiming to posture as a strong leader” by blaming Moscow for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Britain on Wednesday announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats, the severing of high-level contacts with Moscow and other measures. Moscow said it would retaliate, but hasn’t yet announced its response.

Zakharova said that Moscow expects Britain to produce evidence to back up its claims of Russian involvement, which she denounced as “unbelievable nonsense.” She insisted that Russia has “no motive whatsoever” to poison Skripal and denounced U.S. support for the British claims as a reflection of “Russophobia.”

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12:40 p.m.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says Russia targeted a former spy with a military grade nerve agent to make it clear that those who defy the Russian state deserve to “choke on their own 30 pieces of silver.”

Johnson told the BBC on Thursday there was a message in the “smug, sarcastic response” from Moscow after the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter. Johnson says the Russians “want simultaneously to deny it and yet at the same time to glory in it.”

Johnson says “the reason they’ve chosen this nerve agent is to show that it’s Russia, and to show people in their agencies who might think of defecting or of supporting another way of life, of believing in an alternative set of values, that Russia will take revenge.”

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12:30 p.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his solidarity with Britain after the poisoning of an ex-spy.

The president’s office says in a statement Thursday Macron shares Britain’s views that there is “no other plausible explanation” than Russia being involved in the attack, following a phone call with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Macron says Britain has kept France closely informed of the evidence gathered by British investigators and “elements proving Russia’s responsibility in the attack”.

Macron and May condemn the use of a chemical weapon, the statement said.

They agreed on the importance of European countries and NATO members’ unity in the response to this issue.

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11:50 a.m.

The head of Russian state-funded RT television says British Prime Minister Theresa May is to blame if British media are kicked out of Russia over the poisoning of an ex-spy.

RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan dismissed accusations that Russia was behind the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal. It prompted threats to shut down RT’s British operations, among other actions targeting Moscow.

Simonyan told The Associated Press in Moscow that “if we are censored in the U.K., that’s going to be it for the British media” in Russia.

She said it would be strange for Russia to be so “reckless and stupid” as to poison Skripal “knowing what outrage it would cause.”

Skripal and his daughter are in critical condition in a British hospital after an attack that brought Russian-British relations to a post-Cold War low.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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