British Ambassador to Russia Laurie Bristow officially announced the closure of the British Consulate General in St. Petersburg. According to Bristow, after the poisoning of the Violins, Russia and Britain rethought the relationship, and this caused "certain consequences," RIA Novosti reports.. The diplomat added that cooperation between London and Moscow complicated after the incident in Salisbury. Bristow stressed that the decision to close the diplomatic mission was taken by the Russian side and added that "the Consulate General represented Britain for 26 years, building long-term mutually beneficial relations". In the city of Salisbury, on March 4, ex-GRU employee Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia were found unconscious.. British authorities said that the poisoning of Fiddles with substance A-234 is Russia. Sergei Skripal was discharged from the hospital in mid-May, Julia finished treatment a month earlier. What happened to the Violins caused a large-scale international scandal, although the Russian Federation denies its involvement in the incident, calling accusations against the allegations.

German authorities, for example, have not yet received from the British government evidence of Moscow's involvement in the poisoning of the Violins, reports the radio Inforadio referring to informed sources. The statement that it is not proven that A234 was produced in Russia was made at a closed meeting of the Bundestag commission to monitor the activities of the special services.

In addition, German intelligence sources could not obtain data corroborating the fault of the Russian Federation in the incident with the Fiddles, RIAFAN.