Chemical weapons watchdog discusses UK-Russian nerve agent row

THE HAGUE: The world's chemical weapons watchdog on Wednesday held an extraordinary meeting requested by Moscow on the escalating row between Britain and Russia over the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter with a deadly nerve agent one month ago in Britain.

"We consider it's necessary to ensure that this problem is solved within the international legal framework using the full potential of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)," the Russian embassy in The Netherlands said in a tweet.

Russian Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade Georgy Kalamanov, Russia's ambassador to the Netherlands and permanent representative at the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Alexander Shulgin delivered statements at the session of the executive council of the OPCW, said the Russian embassy.

It added Russia's statement is supported by 14 state-parties of the OPCW and that "Russia's position is fact-driven".

Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious in Britain's southwestern city of Salisbury on March 4.

Britain claims they were exposed to a military-grade nerve agent called Novichok and holds Russia responsible. Moscow has denied any involvement and called British accusations "completely unacceptable".

The British government laboratory in Porton Down has identified the substance used to poison Skripal and his daughter Yulia as Novichok nerve agent, but could not determine its country of origin, Gary Aitkenhead, chief executive of the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at the lab told the Sky News broadcaster on Tuesday.