German Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed hope that Moscow will be part of the investigation into the Skripal poisoning.
Sergei Skripal, who was accused of espionage on behalf of London and later granted asylum in the United Kingdom after a US-Russia spy exchange, and his daughter were found unconscious on March 4 on a bench at a shopping center in Salisbury. Both of them remain in critical condition and are being treated for suspected exposure to a nerve agent, supposedly the substance known as Novichok.
In the most recent development of the case earlier this week, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that Russia was “highly likely” responsible for the attack on Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has refuted all the allegations and requested the UK Foreign Office for a joint investigation into the case. The proposal was ignored by the UK leadership, with May announcing a package of anti-Russian measures, including the expulsion of Russian diplomats, and suspension of bilateral contacts between London and Moscow.