NERVE AGENT CASE
Vladimir Putin calls poisoned Skripal a ‘scumbag’
The Russian leader tells an energy forum in Moscow that the scandal has been exaggerated
Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent poisoned in Britain, a scumbag who had betrayed his country. Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped on a public bench in the English city of Salisbury in March. Britain says they were poisoned with a nerve agent administered by Russian intelligence officers. Russia denies involvement in the affair, which has deepened its international isolation. "I see that some of our colleagues are pushing the theory that Mr Skripal was almost some kind of human rights activist," Putin said at an energy forum in Moscow when asked about the case. "He was simply a spy. A traitor to the motherland. "He’s simply a scumbag, that’s all," Putin added, in remarks that drew applause from parts of the audience. Putin, a former intelligence officer himself, said the Skripal scandal had been artificially exaggerated, but said he thought it would fade from the headlines and that the sooner it ...
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