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8237th Security Council Meeting: Letter from United Kingdom
A technical team deployed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the United Kingdom had identified toxic agents consistent with that Government’s initial investigation, said the United Nations top disarmament official in a briefing to the Security Council today.
Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, summarized new information about the 4 March incident in the city of Salisbury, which she had received from OPCW. Blood samples taken from the victims — including the Russian nationals Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia — and environmental samples from the site had confirmed the United Kingdom’s findings regarding the identity of the toxic chemicals. Adding that they had been found to be of “high purity”, she said the OPCW team’s blood sample tests, as well as its on-site sampling, had been conducted under full chain of custody.
Council members speaking after the short briefing universally condemned the use of chemical agents in targeted attacks. However, opinions diverged widely on the implications of the OPCW report with regard to the identity of the Salisbury incident’s perpetrators. Several delegates said the “high purity” finding meant that only a State-sponsored laboratory could have produced it, with some pointing to the Russian Federation as likely being involved. Others emphasized that OPCW had assigned no responsibility for the incident and cautioned against casting blame without concrete evidence.
The representative of the United Kingdom said the report had supported her Government’s own findings that a nerve agent had been identified, with the highest concentration located on the front door of Mr. Skripal’s home. While the United Kingdom had used the term “Novichok” to describe the nerve agent — which differed from the term used by the Russian Federation and OPCW — it was clear they were all talking about the same substance. The report had not identified the country nor the laboratory of origin, but only the Russian Federation had the means, technical experience and the motive to target the Skripals, she said.
Rejecting those allegations as “completely baseless”, the Russian Federation’s delegate emphasized that the OPCW report revealed that the toxic substances could have been produced in the Russian Federation, United States or a host of other countries. The United Kingdom had continued to use such words as “suspected”, “possible” and “may have” in all its statements about the Salisbury incident, he said, outlining various inconsistencies in its position. Describing today’s findings as a “red herring”, he said: “We will not step away from this.”
Joining other speakers in welcoming the transparent handling of the Salisbury incident, Sweden’s representative echoed the assessment that the Russian Federation was likely responsible for the attack. Expressing full confidence in the OPCW findings, he called on the Russian Federation to urgently answer all relevant questions the United Kingdom had posed.
Raising concerns that no perpetrators had been identified, Kazakhstan’s delegate said chemical weapons were rapidly becoming the Council’s Achilles heel. It was also becoming increasingly difficult to discuss the issue due to escalating tensions, divisions and even hateful rhetoric. Expressing regret that those weapons had not yet been eliminated completely, he urged all parties to exercise restraint and avoid taking action before establishing concrete proof of events on the ground. Moreover, the Council should not allow divergent positions on the issue of weapons of mass destruction to escalate any further.
Also speaking were the representatives of Bolivia, United States, France, China, Poland, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Netherlands, Kuwait and Peru.
The meeting began at 3:05 p.m. and ended at 4:39 p.m.
