And now, we're ready to present the interview of RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan with the two Russians whom London suspects of poisoning the Skripals.
- You called my cell phone saying that you were Ruslan Boshirov and Aleksandr Petrov. You're Aleksandr Petrov and you're Ruslan Boshirov. You look like the people from the pictures and videos from the UK. So who are you really?
- We are the people you saw. I'm Ruslan Boshirov. And I'm Alexander Petrov.
- These are your real names?
- Yes.
- Yes, these are our real names.
- But even now, frankly, you look very tense.
- What would you look like…
- if your whole life was turned upside down all of a sudden overnight, and torn down?
- The guys we all saw in those videos from London and Salisbury wearing those jackets and trainers that's you?
- Yes.
- Yes, that's us.
- What were you doing there?
- Well... Our friends had been suggesting for quite a long time that we visit this wonderful city.
- Salisbury? A wonderful city?
- Yes.
- What makes it so wonderful?
- It's a tourist city. They have a famous cathedral there Salisbury Cathedral. It's famous throughout Europe and, in fact, throughout the world, I think. It's famous for its 404-foot tall spire. It's famous for its clock. It's one of the oldest working clocks in the world.
- So, you traveled to Salisbury to see the clock?
- No, initially we planned to go to London and have some fun there. This time, it wasn't a business trip. Our plan was to spend some time in London and then to visit Salisbury. Of course, we wanted to do it all in one day. But when we got there our plane couldn't land on its first approach. That's because of all the havoc they had with transportation in the UK on March 2nd and 3rd. There was a heavy snowfall nearly all the cities were paralyzed. We were unable to go anywhere. It was on every channel. Railroads didn't work on March 2 and 3. Highways were closed. Police cars and ambulances blocked off highways. There was no traffic at all — no trains, nothing. Why isn't anyone talking about any of this?
- Can you give a timeline? Minute-by-minute, or at least hour-by-hour, or as much as you can remember. You arrived in the UK like you said, to have some fun and to see the cathedral to see some clock in Salisbury. Can you tell us what you did in the UK? You spent two days there, right?
- Actually, three.
- Okay, three. What did you do for those three days?
- We arrived in the UK on March 2nd. We went to the train station to check the schedule, to see where we could go.
- The initial plan was to go there for a day. Just take a look and return. To Salisbury, that is.
- One day in Salisbury is enough. There's not much you can do there.
- It's a regular city. A regular tourist city.
- Okay, I get that. That was your plan. But what did you actually do? You arrived. There was heavy snowfall. No trains, nothing. So, what did you do?
- No, we arrived in Salisbury on March 3rd. We wanted to walk around the city but since the whole city was covered with snow, we spent only 30 minutes there. We were all wet.
- There are no pictures. The media, television – nobody talks about how the transportation system was paralyzed that day. It was impossible to get anywhere because of the snow. We were drenched up to our knees.
- Okay, you got wet after a 30-minute walk. What next?
- Of course, we traveled there to see Stonehenge, Old Sarum, and the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary. But it didn't work out because of the slush. The whole city was covered with slush. So we went back to the train station and took the first train back. We spent about 40 minutes in a coffee shop at the train station.
- Drinking coffee. A hot drink because we were drenched. We spent like an hour there.
- Maybe a little over an hour. Because of large intervals between the trains. I think it was because of the snowfall. We went back to London and continued with our journey.
- We walked around London…
- So, you only spent an hour in Salisbury?
- On March 3rd? Yes, Because it was impossible to get anywhere.
- What about the next day?
- On March 4th, we went back there, because the snow melted in London it was warm.
- It was sunny.
- We really wanted to see Old Sarum and the cathedral. So we decided to give it another try on March 4th.
- Another attempt to do what?
- To go sightseeing.
- To see the famous cathedral. To visit Old Sarum.
- So, did you see it?
- Yes, we did.
- On March 4th, we did. But again, by lunchtime, there was heavy sleet. So we…
- Nobody talks about this.
- Left early.
- Is it beautiful?
- Very beautiful. There are many tourists, many Russian tourists, many Russian-speaking tourists.
- By the way, they should have a lot of pictures of the cathedral.
- Your pictures, you mean?
- They should show them.
- I assume you took some pictures while at the cathedral?
- Of course.
- Sure, we did.
- We went to a park, we had some coffee. We went to a coffee shop. We walked around, enjoying those beautiful English Gothic buildings.
- They don't show this. They only show how we went…
- Give us the pictures, we'll show them.
- At the train station?
- So, while you were in Salisbury, did you go anywhere near the Skripals home?
- Maybe. We don't know.
- Do you know where their house is?
- I don't. Do you?
- We don't either.
- We don't know that.
- Maybe we passed it, or maybe we didn't. I'd never heard of them before this nightmare started. I'd never heard this name before. I didn't know anything about them.
- When you arrived in the UK when you were in London or in Salisbury throughout your whole trip did you have any Novichok or some other poisonous agent or dangerous substance with you?
- No.
- That's absurd.
- Did you have that bottle of Nina Ricci perfume which the UK presents as evidence of your alleged crime?
- Don't you think that it's kind of stupid for two straight men to be carrying perfume for ladies? When you go through customs, they check all your belongings. Any police officer would... So, if we had anything suspicious, they would definitely have questions. Why would a man have women's perfume in his bag?
- Even an ordinary person would have questions. Why would a man need perfume for women?
- How would it be possible for someone to find a perfume bottle on you?
- I mean, when you go through customs…
- Long story short, did you have that Nina Ricci bottle or not?
- No.
- No, we didn't.
- Speaking of you being straight men all the footage features you two together. You spent time together, stayed together, went for a walk together. What do you have in common that you spend so much time together?
- You know, let's not breach anyone's privacy. We came to you for protection but this is turning into some kind of an interrogation. You are going too far. We came to you for protection. You're not interrogating us.
- We are journalists, we don't protect. We aren't lawyers. In fact, this was my next question. Why did you decide to go to the media? Your photos were published some time ago together with your names but you kept silent. But then today you called me because you wanted to speak to the media. What changed?
- To ask for protection.
- You say we kept silent. After our lives turned into a nightmare, we didn't know what to do, where to go. The police? The Investigative Committee? The British Embassy? Or the FSB. We don't know.
- Why would you go to the British Embassy?
- We really didn't know what to do. Where to go? Hello?
- You know, when your life is turned upside down you don't really understand what to do and where to go. And many say, why don't they go to the British Embassy and explain everything?
- And you know what they are saying about you, right?
- Of course, we do.
- Yes, of course. We... can't go out on the street because we are scared. We're afraid.
- What are you afraid of?
- We fear for our lives. And for the lives of our families and friends.
- So, you fear that the British secret service will kill you or what?
- We just don't know.
- Read what the Russian media is writing.
- They are offering a reward.
- What do you mean? There's a bounty on your head?
- Dmitry... Gudkov, if I am not mistaken, promised a trip to the UK for anybody who brings us to him. Do you think that's okay? And you think we can feel just fine, walking around smiling, talking to people? Any sensible person would be afraid. That's it.
- Why did you call me of all people? Why did you come to RT?
- It just happened so we were reading the news today, your Telegram.
- You said it in Telegram… yourself.
- Now I know people read it.
- I don't know whether I can mention this on air.
- Just say it. If it's something we can't say, we'll take it out.
- "Let's go bastards," you wrote.
- Oh, that. I wrote, "Go to the back of the line, you bastards."
- Yes.
- Yes. So, after we saw that, we decided to call you and come here.
- Would you have contacted us if it hadn't been for Putin? He appealed to you today. He said it on television alarming the media. He said that they have identified you and that you should contact the media. If it hadn't been for Putin, would you have contacted us?
- Margarita, you know we probably would have recorded a video and put it on the web. We…
- You would've recorded a video…
- And posted it online.
- We... don't have any experience with the media. It would've been easier for us to lay it all out online. Because we basically…
- To ask for protection, for help.
- Today, we didn't watch it live, but I heard it on the radio.
- It gave us an impulse. And so we called you.
- Do you work for the GRU?
- Do you work for the GRU?
- Me? No, I don't. And you?
- Me neither.
- And me neither. Well, I wasn't accused of working for the GRU unlike you two.
- It's your colleagues who accuse us.
- By my colleagues, you mean journalists, right? British law enforcement accuses you of working for the GRU.
- This is the worst.
- What do you do then? You're two adults, you must be working somewhere.
- We have a medium-sized business. If we tell you about our business…
- This will affect the people we work with. We don't want this to happen.
- We'll make it easier for your colleagues to identify them.
- Do you want people to believe you or not? People have been told the opposite of what you're saying. Some believe you, some don't. You say you don't work for the GRU but you refuse to talk about your business I have questions, and our audience will have questions too. If you're not GRU, not spies, never poisoned anyone and you went there simply as tourists then what is it you do?
- To put it in a nutshell, we're in the fitness industry. Things like sports nutrition, vitamins, mineral nutrients, proteins, gainers, and so on. Once again, if we were to say more, our partners and... how do I say this, a wide range of my acquaintances…
- You have already broken into a sweat, I'll turn the air conditioner on.
– Yes, it's hot here.
– Yes. So, you are involved in the fitness industry?
- Yes.
- So, do you consult people in Europe who want to build up their biceps or what?
- Why in Europe?
- That's my next question but first, answer this one and then I'll ask you about Europe.
- We consult people here.
- Do you consult people here?
- Yes, and the trend now is not to consult on how to build up biceps but on the contrary, how do I say this, how to shape the body. So-called shredding, healthy living, eutrophy.
– Eutrophy, healthy living.
- So you work with clients, whom you help to build the perfect body? Or do you work with fitness clubs, coaches?
- In short, yes.
- We'd rather not disclose this information because, well…
- And we'd rather not dig too much into this work and, say, all those kinds of questions. Honestly, I don't want our clients to be harmed because of this. I don't want the people who we work with to be harmed. So I'd rather not dig too much in it.
- Okay. The British claim that you have been to Europe nearly dozens of times over the past two years, first of all, to Switzerland. What did you do there as people who deal with the fitness industry and building muscles?
- The British claim many things. They claim that we…
– So you haven't been to Europe?
- They even claim that we lived in a hotel room, a room with one bed. And the fact the rooms next door are doubles and triples, and it's absolutely normal for a tourist, a visitor, to come and to settle into a double room, a twin room, and to stay there. It saves money. And it's just a daily routine: living together is more pleasant, easier, and it's absolutely normal for any ordinary person.
- Listen, you don't even need to make excuses for that. The world worries least of all if you had a single bed or two, I'll tell you honestly. Let's say: did you visit Europe over the past two years?
- Of course. Those were business trips mostly.
- And mostly to Switzerland?
- Yes, but…
- So it's true?
- No, not mostly to Switzerland…
– Well, it's more than we really did.
– If I remember this correctly, we traveled there a couple of times this year, visited it on New Years.
- But what did you do there? How's your business connected with it? I understand that you don't want to disclose the names of your clients, etc., But how's your business connected to Europe and Switzerland?
- It's not always business. We traveled to Switzerland, in particular, for a vacation.
- Yes, we had business trips there but, let me jog my memory, how long ago was that?
- Visiting Geneva doesn't mean... It's absolutely normal. Flying to Geneva is... It's the shortest road to Mont Blanc, it's going to France, when it's just several miles away, visiting France. It's convenient.
- So was it a business or a vacation trip?
- No, both ways. Mostly business trips.
- So how's your business connected to Europe?
- It's connected with sports nutrition because there are drugs and vitamins sold in Europe.
- So you buy the nutrition there and bring it here?
- Yes, but it's not like we buy them, pack them in our bags and bring them here. We study the market, look for the new products, for some specialized nutritional supplements, amino acids, vitamins, mineral nutrients. We choose the essentials and return here to deal with an issue of delivering the new products of this market here. It's only one of the areas of focus of our business.
- I have a folder here with the screenshots. It's you, right?
- Yes.
– Is it you, is it your clothes?
– Yes.
– Are you wearing a different one now?
– Yes. But we still have this clothes, in the wardrobe.
- Yes, this jacket is hanging in my wardrobe. The shoes were bought in England and the jacket.
- Yes, those advertised New Balance sneakers. That's all the clothes, we are wearing them now. No, that's the…
- Is it here in Russia now?
- Those are the shoes you bought on Oxford Street if I'm correct.
- Yes, on the 3rd of March, what's notable.
– On the 3rd of March, when we got drenched.
– Yes, I had to buy shoes. We got drenched on the 3rd of March and we had to return to London.
– And we went shopping.
– And we had to change our shoes, yes. I went to buy new shoes. So I wore the other ones the next day.
- Are these clothes in Russia now?
- Yes, they are.
– Can we see them?
– We can even show them.
- Great. Do you have them with you by any chance?
- The jacket – yes. The jacket is here. It's here.
– The one?
- Yes, the one, it's right here. I have all the clothes in the wardrobe too.
- Okay. Here's a picture which puzzled the whole world. Gatwick, you exist the gate the same time, almost the same second. How did that happen? What on Earth is that?
- I think you better ask it them because we always…
- How can we explain it?
- We always pass the gates together, even the same customs passage, the same customs officer, policeman. One passes, the other waits, that's it. We went through the passage together, we always do that. But how did they... I think you better ask them how that happened. At the same time, at the same second, one by one.
- About the fact that we pass together: my English is a bit better, so I help out if there are some problems.
- So you passed together? You didn't take different passages, right?
- We never take different passages.
- So what are those pictures? That didn't happen, it's an edit or what?
- I don't know.
- If only we'd remember when this happened.
- How did they make it... When one arrives, departs, visits some places, one never pays attention to the cameras. Because it's not interesting how, where, what do they record. I don't care about this. And I didn't pay attention to this. But if they printed those photos and this timecode, then one better ask them.
- What are your thoughts on this whole Skripal case? Who poisoned him? You ever thought about it at all?
- Well, it's hard to say…
- I mean before you saw your photos on TV.
- We're living it. I'll say one thing, though…
- If they ever find the ones who did it it'd be nice if they at least apologized to us.
- Who? The poisoners?
- No, the British.
- All this time we... How long have they been going on about it all now? Five days, a week? I've lost count of time. I'm really…
- You have no idea what it's done to our lives…
- Can't even go and fill up your car in peace…
- What it's done to your lives…
- People recognize you that often?
- Well, we think they do. How else can we feel when they keep showing us on TV?
- Every day. Full-screen. Our two photos. You turn on the radio, it goes "Boshirov, Petrov."
- It's scary…
- You turn on the TV — "Boshirov, Petrov." What would your life be like under these circumstances? I'm frightened, I'm anxious, I'm scared... I don't know what to expect tomorrow. That's why we've come to you.
- I try not to watch any news now. He still does, and I just ask him sometimes, "Anything new?" and I expect to hear, "No, it's all the same" but he goes, "Yeah, plenty." They keep making it worse and worse. How much longer can it go on for?
- What are you going to do now?
- No idea. We simply want to be left in peace.
- Aren't you now on a travel blacklist? I mean, if you leave Russia you will most likely get arrested.
- Well, we hope that the situation can be resolved.
- Yes, we want it to be resolved for the British side to apologize for all this mess for the real culprits in the Skripal case to be found and for our lives to change for the better.
- The whole situation is some kind of extraordinary coincidence that's all. What are we guilty of?
- We simply would like to be left in peace now at least for a little while. We want everybody to calm down.
- At least our media — your colleagues.
- "Our" meaning Russian?
- We kind of realize what will happen after this interview.
- Well, I don't know what will happen tomorrow.
- In any case, we will have to…
- You'll become talk show stars!
- That's not what we want. One just wants to hide and sit it all out.
- We certainly don't want the publicity of that sort. We simply wish to be left alone.
- We're sick and tired of all this.
- Exhausted.
- If it is possible, please, everybody leave us alone. You're our way of getting this word out to everybody, including your fellow journalists. Even if someone recognizes our faces since we can't simply stay at home, we have to go out in public, dear friends, please, don't grab your phones... I don't know what to say... We simply want some peace. I understand that we won't return to normal life as soon as we would like to…
- But we at least don't want to be pestered right now. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for coming here, to RT.
- Thank you for hearing us out.
