Moscow says not responsible for spat with the West

How far a row escalates between Moscow and the West over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain does not depend on Russia, its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news briefing on Monday.

In times of cold war there were some rules, but now Britain and the United States had dropped all propriety and were playing children's games, he said.

Russia has denied responsibility for the March 4 attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury.