Putin Calls U.k. Accusations Over Ex-spy Poisoning 'nonsense'

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday dismissed British accusations of Russia's involvement in an ex-spy's poisoning as "nonsense," but added that Moscow is ready to cooperate with London in the investigation. In his first comments on the incident, Putin referred to the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter as a "tragedy," but added that if the British claim that they were poisoned by the Soviet-designed nerve agent were true, the victims would have been killed instantly. Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer convicted in his home country of spying for Britain, and his daughter have remained in critical condition following the March 4 poisoning. "It's quite obvious that if it were a military-grade nerve agent, people would have died on the spot," he said.