Skripal’s identity and background quickly led to speculation that Russia was involved in the attack, although it has denied any involvement.
Speaking in parliament Tuesday, U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he was not yet pointing fingers at the Kremlin but called Russia a “malign and disruptive force.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed Johnson’s comments.
“This story was straight away used to boost an anti-Russian campaign in the media,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters Tuesday.
“It is difficult to see (in the story) anything other than provocations aimed at harming the relations between our two countries.”
She called Johnson’s statements “wild” and said: “How can a man charged with foreign affairs, who has no relation to security organs, make such statements?”
She added that the media response followed a “script”: “At first the media background will be blown up, absolutely baseless, ungrounded accusations will sound, then again all this will be classified. And again neither journalists, nor the public, nor politicians, nor officials will know what was really there,” she said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
