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FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
THE suspected Russian assassins wanted over the Novichok poisoning in Salisbury may have been lovers, according to bizarre new claims.
Alleged GRU spies Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Bochirov are wanted over the attempted murder of former KGB spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia using a military-grade nerve agent on March 4.
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Speculation over the nature of their relationship began when they were asked by Russian state TV station RT: "On the (CCTV) video you are shown always together. You were together, lived together, walked everywhere together. What does in fact connect you?”
Boshirov replied: "Let's not pry into our private lives.”
Interviewer 38 year old Margarita Simonyan - who is head of the Kremlin “propaganda” channel later said: “I do not know if they are gays or not.
“They are quite fashionable - with little beards, hair cuts, tight pants, sweaters tight over big biceps.
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“They did not harass me. Anyway I'm already out of the harassable age."
“Still, I poured them cognac for courage.
“During the interview I told them that the world least of all worries with the question if they slept in one bed or not."
The pair suggested they were ordinary tourists wanting to see - among other sights - Salisbury cathedral and Stonehenge.
They spoke with the Kremlin's propaganda-machine Russia Today on Wednesday in yet another attempt by Vladimir Putin's regime to obscure the narrative surrounding the incident.
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Her comments have fuelled bizarre speculation in notoriously homophobic Russia over the pair's relationship.
One online news portal even started a poll asking readers whether the pair were “agents made to be gays or gays made to be agents”.
Elsewhere in the interview the pair said: "Our friends had been telling us for some time we should visit this extraordinary town."
Claiming to be interested in the history of the local area, they praised Salisbury Cathedral for its "123-metre spire and its clock, one of the first ever created in the world that's still working".
Despite being filmed "moments before" the botched hit before leaving the country hours later in a flight out of Heathrow, the brazen Russians claimed they spent "no more than an hour" in Salisbury.
Petrov said they wanted to visit Wiltshire's pre-historic monument Stonehenge rather than carry out a state-sponsored execution on foreign soil.
He said: "Of course, we went there to see Stonehenge, Old Sarum, but we couldn’t do it because there was muddy slush everywhere.
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"The town was covered by this slush. We got wet, took the nearest train and came back (to London).”
Boshirov added: “We spent no more than an hour in Salisbury, mainly because of the lags between trains.
“Maybe we did (approach) Skripal’s house, but we don’t know where is it located.”
It comes after Vladimir Putin said there is "nothing criminal" about Petrov and Boshirov.
His comments set him up for yet another showdown with the West, after countries - including the US - backed Theresa May's statement that the duo were assassins sent by the Russian state.
In an escalating war of words, Russia claims the moves are to prepare the British public for aggressive measures against its country.
During their chat with RT, Boshirov tried to paint himself and his colleague as victims, complaining about how being named as suspects has made them fear for their lives.
The Sun Says
If you’re laughing at Russia’s ridiculous lies over the Salisbury outrage, you’ve fallen into their trap.
Admittedly it’s hard not to mock the absurdity of claiming two State assassins armed with Novichok were actually cathedral-loving tourists.
But Dawn Sturgess died. Her partner almost did. The target Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia had to fight for life.
Putin, proven guilty by forensics and intelligence and condemned by all but Jeremy Corbyn, resorts first to mickey-taking, now to fabrications so ludicrous they amount to the same thing.
Russia wants to pass off the horror of this attempted assassination, the unleashing of a chemical weapon on a Wiltshire town, and its deadly aftermath, as a big joke with Britain as its target.
Never forget: these killers were ordered to tell this preposterous story by a criminal regime of thieves, murderers and warmongers who shame a great nation.
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Speaking after Prime Minister's Questions last week, Theresa May said the suspects were members of the Russian Military Intelligence Service and were carrying out a mission on behalf of the state.
She said: "Based on a body of intelligence, the Government has concluded that the two individuals named by the police and CPS are officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU."
PUTIN’S PROPAGANDA MACHINE Russian response to Skripal poisoning
Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the poisoning and accused Britain of witholding information and not involving them in the investigation.
- If he did command the hit, Putin might have many motives. It may be a warning to other defectors, or a show of power.
- His blase response, and the government's sometimes-disparaging dismissal of foreign concerns reinforced the impression that the quasi-dictator does not have to answer to anyone.
- By claiming the UK's actions are intended to prep its populace for supporting aggression towards Russia, the Kremlin simultaneously muddies the water and creates a sense of injustice at home.
- Russian media has attacked the Novichok investigation on several fronts. It has claimed the poor execution of the attack suggests it was criminal rather than state sponsored, and now says the suspects are normal civilians.
- Diplomats also recently stressed they has made several proposals to the United Kingdom to establish cooperation over the Salisbury incident.
- The attack, and Putin's response, bare striking resemblance to that of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko, who was killed after being exposed to a radioactive substance.
- Russia is a regular target for criticism and condemnation from media freedom watchdogs, with the majority of TV and Newspapers either state-run, or owned by companies linked to the Kremlin.
- Most toe the Kremlin's line, and critical voices are often attacked or even murdered.
- This allows Putin to get his narrative to the population largely-unopposed.
But shamelessly the Russian Foreign Ministry has still called on Britain to "justify" the accusation that the pair are lying.
Today Boshirov denied being a spy while claiming he had never even heard the name Skripal before.
He said: "I didn't know, I haven't heard - until this situation, until this nightmare with us started, I haven't heard this last name (Skripal), I knew nothing about them.
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“We came here to you for protection. But it becomes some sort of interrogation - we are starting to go deep. We are asking for your protection."
Asked what they did for a living, Petrov said "We are mid-scale entrepreneurs".
He claimed they were involved in "the fitness industry" who deal in "everything that comes to sport nutrition, vitamins, microelements, proteins and so on."
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