LONDON: Russian President Vladimir Putin wished “good health” to former agent Sergei Skripal as he was released from a British hospital Friday, after recovering from a nerve agent poisoning alleged to have been orchestrated by the Kremlin.
“God grant him good health,” Putin said in a Sochi press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“If a military-grade poison had been used, the man would have died on the spot. Thank God he recovered and that he left (hospital).”
Russia has rejected British accusations of involvement in the poisoning, which sparked a diplomatic crisis that saw Russia and the West expelling dozens of diplomats in tit-for-tat moves.
Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who was visiting from Moscow, collapsed on March 4 on a bench in Salisbury, the city in southwestern England where the former double agent lives.
Police officer Nick Bailey who came to help was also taken to hospital. He was discharged several weeks after the attack, while Yulia Skripal was treated in hospital for just over a month.
Salisbury District Hospital nursing director Lorna Wilkinson said looking after Skripal and the two others poisoned by the same nerve agent had been “a huge and unprecedented challenge.”
“This is an important stage in his recovery, which will now take place away from the hospital,” she said.
Britain has said the poisoning was carried out with a type of nerve agent known as Novichok which was developed in the Soviet Union.
UN experts have confirmed that a high-purity nerve agent was used without specifying whether it was Novichok or saying who might be behind the poisoning.
Following Skripal’s release, the Metropolitan Police said it was making “good progress” in the case.
“This is a complex investigation and detectives continue to gather and piece together all the evidence to establish the full facts and circumstances behind this dreadful attack,” it said in a statement.
Russia has challenged Britain to provide evidence in the case.
“We have several times offered our British partners any necessary assistance in the investigation (of the poisoning),” Putin said Friday.
“So far we have received no response. Our offer remains open.”
The Russian embassy in London accused Britain of blocking access to the pair in defiance of diplomatic convention, airing the claims in a set of sensational social media posts.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said their offer of consular assistance had been passed to Yulia Skripal but that she had turned it down.
Both she and her father are now likely to be in protective custody.
“In the interests of Sergei and Yulia’s safety, we will not be discussing any protective or security arrangements that are in place,” the Metropolitan Police said.
Skripal is a former Russian military intelligence officer who passed information on Russia’s agents in Europe to British security services, resulting in imprisonment in his homeland.
He moved to Britain as part of a spy swap in 2010 and has lived there ever since.
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Putin wishes ‘good health’ to ex-spy Skripal after hospital discharge
Putin wishes ‘good health’ to ex-spy Skripal after hospital discharge
Panama wrests control of canal ports from Hong Kong group
- In January, the country’s supreme court declared as “unconstitutional” the contract which had allowed Hutchison’s subsidiary Panama Ports Company (PPC) to manage the ports
PANAMA: Panamanian authorities have taken control of two ports on the Panama Canal from CK Hutchison after the Hong Kong-based conglomerate’s concession was annulled amid a row between the United States and China.
CK Hutchison objected Tuesday to the takeover, which it called “unlawful” and said raises “serious risks to the operations, health and safety” at terminals.”
In January, the country’s supreme court declared as “unconstitutional” the contract which had allowed Hutchison’s subsidiary Panama Ports Company (PPC) to manage the ports of Balboa on the Pacific and Cristobal on the Atlantic since 1997.
“The Panama Maritime Authority has taken possession of its ports and guarantees the continuity of operations,” an official said Monday after the Panamanian Supreme Court annulled Hutchison’s contracts to operate the ports.
The court ruling was the latest legal move to ripple through the interoceanic waterway, which handles about 40 percent of US container traffic and five percent of world trade.
The Central American country has been swept up in broader tensions between Washington and Beijing, with US President Donald Trump claiming, without providing evidence, last year that China effectively runs the canal.
Panama has always denied Chinese control over the 80-kilometer (50-mile) waterway, which is used mainly by the United States and China.
Hutchison had asked the Panamanian government to enter into negotiations to allow it to continue operating the two terminals — to no avail.
Publication of the court ruling in the official gazette Monday effectively ended the legal process.
“This does not imply the expropriation of those assets, but rather their use to guarantee the operation of the ports until their real value is determined for the corresponding actions,” said Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino.
Ports director Max Florez said an 18-month transition period now begins, with the ports being operated by two other companies before contracts are awarded under a new international tender.
PPC denounced the move as an “illegal takeover without transparency or coordination” and said Panama’s actions were “confiscatory.”
In its statement Tuesday, CK Hutchison said: “None of the actions by the Panama State were advised to or co-ordinated with PPC.”
It will continue to consult with legal advisers regarding the ruling and “all available recourse including... legal proceedings against the Republic of Panama and its agents and third parties colluding with them,” CK Hutchison added.
Hong Kong’s government lodged a “stern protest” on Tuesday, saying in a statement that the “heavy-handed action” had “seriously infringed upon the lawful rights and interests of Hong Kong enterprises.”
’No layoffs’
China’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office had previously warned that Panama would pay a “heavy price, both politically and economically” for stripping Hutchison of its tender.
Panama said APM Terminals, a subsidiary of the Danish Maersk group, will operate the port of Balboa, and Terminal Investment Limited, owned by the logistics giant MSC, will operate the port of Cristobal.
Labor Minister Jackeline Munoz assured there would be “no layoffs” at the two terminals, which employ around 1,200 people.
Following the court’s January ruling, the Panama Maritime Authority had said a division of Maersk Group would temporarily take over operation of the facilities.
Last week, Hutchison warned of possible legal action against Maersk and others over the annulment of its contract.
The Hong Kong company has said it will challenge Panama’s decision before the International Chamber of Commerce.
US Ambassador to Panama Kevin Cabrera defended Panamanian authorities, saying they have the right “to have their judicial system make its own decisions” and that the Supreme Court ruling was “very good” for the people of Panama.
The Panama Canal was built by the United States, which operated it for a century before ceding control to Panama in 1999.
On his first day back in the White House last year, Trump threatened to seize the canal.
He cooled his threats after Panamanian authorities decided that the concession ran counter to Panama’s interests.
CK Hutchison objected Tuesday to the takeover, which it called “unlawful” and said raises “serious risks to the operations, health and safety” at terminals.”
In January, the country’s supreme court declared as “unconstitutional” the contract which had allowed Hutchison’s subsidiary Panama Ports Company (PPC) to manage the ports of Balboa on the Pacific and Cristobal on the Atlantic since 1997.
“The Panama Maritime Authority has taken possession of its ports and guarantees the continuity of operations,” an official said Monday after the Panamanian Supreme Court annulled Hutchison’s contracts to operate the ports.
The court ruling was the latest legal move to ripple through the interoceanic waterway, which handles about 40 percent of US container traffic and five percent of world trade.
The Central American country has been swept up in broader tensions between Washington and Beijing, with US President Donald Trump claiming, without providing evidence, last year that China effectively runs the canal.
Panama has always denied Chinese control over the 80-kilometer (50-mile) waterway, which is used mainly by the United States and China.
Hutchison had asked the Panamanian government to enter into negotiations to allow it to continue operating the two terminals — to no avail.
Publication of the court ruling in the official gazette Monday effectively ended the legal process.
“This does not imply the expropriation of those assets, but rather their use to guarantee the operation of the ports until their real value is determined for the corresponding actions,” said Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino.
Ports director Max Florez said an 18-month transition period now begins, with the ports being operated by two other companies before contracts are awarded under a new international tender.
PPC denounced the move as an “illegal takeover without transparency or coordination” and said Panama’s actions were “confiscatory.”
In its statement Tuesday, CK Hutchison said: “None of the actions by the Panama State were advised to or co-ordinated with PPC.”
It will continue to consult with legal advisers regarding the ruling and “all available recourse including... legal proceedings against the Republic of Panama and its agents and third parties colluding with them,” CK Hutchison added.
Hong Kong’s government lodged a “stern protest” on Tuesday, saying in a statement that the “heavy-handed action” had “seriously infringed upon the lawful rights and interests of Hong Kong enterprises.”
’No layoffs’
China’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office had previously warned that Panama would pay a “heavy price, both politically and economically” for stripping Hutchison of its tender.
Panama said APM Terminals, a subsidiary of the Danish Maersk group, will operate the port of Balboa, and Terminal Investment Limited, owned by the logistics giant MSC, will operate the port of Cristobal.
Labor Minister Jackeline Munoz assured there would be “no layoffs” at the two terminals, which employ around 1,200 people.
Following the court’s January ruling, the Panama Maritime Authority had said a division of Maersk Group would temporarily take over operation of the facilities.
Last week, Hutchison warned of possible legal action against Maersk and others over the annulment of its contract.
The Hong Kong company has said it will challenge Panama’s decision before the International Chamber of Commerce.
US Ambassador to Panama Kevin Cabrera defended Panamanian authorities, saying they have the right “to have their judicial system make its own decisions” and that the Supreme Court ruling was “very good” for the people of Panama.
The Panama Canal was built by the United States, which operated it for a century before ceding control to Panama in 1999.
On his first day back in the White House last year, Trump threatened to seize the canal.
He cooled his threats after Panamanian authorities decided that the concession ran counter to Panama’s interests.
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