Salisbury likely to be discussed at UN meeting chaired by Trump

The poisoning of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in Salisbury may be discussed at the UN Security Council’s meeting due to be chaired by US President Donald Trump on September 26, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya told TASS.

In an interview ahead of a high-level week of the 73rd UN General Assembly, Nebenzya noted Washington may use the meeting to again raise the issue of a new deal with Iran. However, "no new deal on the Iranian nuclear issue is planned," the diplomat stressed. "It already exists. This is the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," he said.

When asked whether the Salisbury incident will be discussed, Nebenzya said the issue spearheaded by the Americans has been changed and now has a more general character of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

On September 5, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley announced that Trump plans to chair the UN Security Council’s meeting during the high-level week. Initially, the meeting was expected to focus on Iran, but then the agenda was expanded to include efforts to counter the proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons.

Britain claims that former Russian military intelligence officer convicted in Russia for spying for the UK Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were affected by a nerve gas of the Novichok class in Salisbury, England, on March 4. The British government claimed that Russia was highly likely involved in this incident. Moscow strongly dismissed all speculations on that score, saying that neither the Soviet Union nor Russia had ever had programs for making such agents.