The Russian Defense Ministry called comments from Britain’s defense secretary “rhetoric worthy of a harridan” after he suggested Russia should “go away and shut up.”
The comment, from spokesman Major Gen. Igor Konashenkov, was a response to British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson’s remarks about Russia in the wake of the nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent. A “harridan” is defined as a “strict, bossy, or belligerent old woman.”
Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were attacked with a military-grade nerve agent developed by the former Soviet Union during the Cold War. The two were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury, England, on March 4.
The British government concluded Russia was responsible for the attack, and on Thursday, British Prime Minister Theresa May, President Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the attack and blamed Russia for it.
Moscow, meanwhile, has denied any involvement and said the British government has no evidence Russia is responsible.
Konashenkov said Williamson’s comments indicate a “high degree of his intellectual impotence,” according to the Associated Press.
“The boorish language is apparently the only thing left in the British military arsenal,” he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry spokesman also said Williamson’s comments reflect “the baselessness of all London’s accusations against Russia,” as well as the “complete nullity of the accusers.”
Russia, he said, “developed immunity to all kinds of fake accusations in all deadly sins coming from London.”
