{"id":76223,"date":"2018-04-05T04:55:31","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T11:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=76223"},"modified":"2018-04-05T04:55:31","modified_gmt":"2018-04-05T11:55:31","slug":"skripals-last-restaurant-order-not-released-by-uk-niece-tells-russian-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/04\/05\/skripals-last-restaurant-order-not-released-by-uk-niece-tells-russian-tv\/","title":{"rendered":"Skripals’ Last Restaurant Order Not Released by UK, Niece Tells Russian TV"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Courtesy Sputnick<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Victoria Skripal, the niece of the former Russian intelligence officer poisoned in Salisbury, England, has given her thoughts on the incident during an interview with Russia’s Channel One TV network.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The niece of\u00a0Sergei Skripal referred to\u00a0the Salisbury pizzeria after\u00a0visiting which her uncle and his daughter had been found by\u00a0policemen after\u00a0the March 4 incident. She pointed out\u00a0that the two allegedly ordered fugu fish\u00a0\u2014 quite a surprising suggestion as\u00a0this dish is part of\u00a0Japanese cuisine, and should be carefully prepared to\u00a0avoid a lethal poisoning. The Zizzi restaurant in\u00a0Salisbury does not offer any fugu-based dish in\u00a0its menu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Is it difficult to\u00a0obtain an account and see what people ordered at\u00a0the restaurant? For some reason this information is classified. Did they eat some unknown dish that you cannot eat? Or is it forbidden in\u00a0England?” Victoria Skripal said.<\/p>\n

\n

Fugu can be lethally poisonous due to\u00a0its tetrodotoxin; therefore, it must be carefully prepared. The restaurant preparation of\u00a0fugu, which is served as\u00a0sashimi and chirinabe, is strictly controlled by\u00a0law in\u00a0Japan and several other countries, and only chefs who have qualified after\u00a0three or more years of\u00a0rigorous training are allowed to\u00a0prepare the fish. Domestic preparation occasionally leads to\u00a0accidental death.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

According to\u00a0police, Skripals had a drink at\u00a0The Bishop’s Mill pub and then ate lunch at\u00a0Italian restaurant Zizzi, leaving around\u00a03:35pm. However, it hasn’t been immediately clear what exactly did they order.<\/p>\n

The version voiced by\u00a0Victoria Skripal has been one of\u00a0numerous suggestions concerning the poisoning of\u00a0the former spy and his daughter.<\/p>\n

She also noted that the story of\u00a0the Skripals being poisoned by\u00a0a nerve agent from\u00a0the door of\u00a0Skripal’s house holds no water. According to\u00a0her, police conducted a search in\u00a0Skripal’s house, where she said lived “two cats and two guinea pigs.”<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Russian Foreign Ministry: What Happened to\u00a0Skripal’s Pets, Why’s UK Silent?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The neighbors saw one of\u00a0the cats running away from\u00a0the house after\u00a0the Skripals’ poisoning<\/a>. “If\u00a0the Novichok<\/a>* is used for\u00a0poisoning, why did the animals survive?” she added.<\/p>\n

Sergei Skripal’s Niece Claims She Spoke With Yulia by\u00a0the Phone<\/strong><\/p>\n

The niece of\u00a0Sergei Skripal has also alleged in\u00a0an\u00a0interview<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0the Rossiya 1 TV channel that she had spoken with\u00a0her cousin Yulia. The alleged audio recording of\u00a0their phone conversation has been broadcast, however, the authenticity of\u00a0the tape hasn’t been verified.<\/p>\n

During the alleged phone talks, Victoria Skripal speaks with\u00a0a woman, who names herself as\u00a0Yulia Skripal and says that she’s “fine.” In her turn, during\u00a0the alleged conversation, Victoria says that she’ll fly to\u00a0London on\u00a0Monday, with\u00a0her interlocutor responding that “nobody will give a visa.”<\/p>\n

She alleged that the call had taken place just hours before\u00a0the UK authorities’ announcement that Yukia Skripal had\u00a0regained consciousness and the ability to\u00a0talk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Earlier, Victoria told Russia’s\u00a0Rossiya 24 TV Channel<\/a>\u00a0that she wants to\u00a0fly to\u00a0London to\u00a0take Yulia Skripal to\u00a0Russia.<\/p>\n

“As far as\u00a0Sergei Viktorovich [Skripal] is concerned, everything is much more complicated there. So right now I will keep neutrality both towards\u00a0the UK and us,” she pointed out.<\/p>\n

When asked whether Yulia Skripal was involved in\u00a0politics, Victoria said that “there was no political component in\u00a0her life.”<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Top German CDU Politician Lambasts Britain for\u00a0Lack of\u00a0Evidence in\u00a0Skripal Case<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Victoria added that she communicated with\u00a0her uncle two weeks before\u00a0the Salisbury incident, learning about\u00a0his and his daughter being poisoned from\u00a0media outlets at\u00a018:00 Moscow time (15-00 GMT).<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the Russian Embassy in\u00a0Britain said that\u00a0the UK Foreign Office<\/a>\u00a0had refused to\u00a0share with\u00a0Moscow samples of\u00a0the substance allegedly used in\u00a0the Skripal poisoning, and failed to\u00a0respond to\u00a0Moscow’s inquiries regarding Sergei Skripal’s\u00a0 treatment.<\/p>\n

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Russia hadn’t received the conclusions of\u00a0the UK government laboratory in\u00a0Porton Down on\u00a0the Skripal case.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: London Admits Russia’s Alleged Guilt in ‘Skripal Case’ Based on\u00a0Assumptions<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Her remarks came as\u00a0Gary Aitkenhead, chief executive of\u00a0the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory at\u00a0Porton Down, said that they had not been able to\u00a0prove that the nerve agent allegedly used in\u00a0the Skripal poisoning was Russian in\u00a0origin.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Russian<\/div>\n
\u00a9 SPUTNIK\/ NATALIA SELIVERSTOVA<\/div>\n
NATO Plotted ‘Skripal Case’ to Justify Their Defense Spendings – Russian Foreign Ministry<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Relations between\u00a0the UK and Russia have worsened significantly after\u00a0British Prime Minister Theresa May<\/a>\u00a0blamed Russian for\u00a0being behind\u00a0the Skripals’ poisoning.May announced the expulsion of\u00a023 Russian diplomats as\u00a0a punitive measure, in\u00a0a move that was followed by\u00a0similar decisions in\u00a0the US, Canada and Ukraine, as\u00a0well as\u00a0about 20 European countries, which expelled more than\u00a0150 Russian diplomats.<\/p>\n

Moscow responded in\u00a0kind, also expelling Western diplomats and ordering the British Council to\u00a0stop its activities in\u00a0Russia. Moscow vehemently denies all the accusations over\u00a0the Skripal case, calling for\u00a0a joint investigation into\u00a0the poisoning.
\n______________________________________________________________________
\n* a nerve agent commonly known as\u00a0A-234<\/p>\n

This article has been updated to\u00a0better reflect the position of\u00a0the UK side on\u00a0the versions of\u00a0Skripals’ visit to\u00a0the restaurant.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Courtesy Sputnick Victoria Skripal, the niece of the former Russian intelligence officer poisoned in Salisbury, England, has given her thoughts on the incident during an interview with Russia’s Channel One TV network. The niece of\u00a0Sergei Skripal referred to\u00a0the Salisbury pizzeria after\u00a0visiting which her uncle and his daughter had been found by\u00a0policemen after\u00a0the March 4 incident. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76223\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}