Paul Urey death: Russia envoy to UK calls aid worker ‘British mercenary’ as diplomatic row erupts

• Shubham
• 20 July, 2022

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By: Shubham Ghosh

A MAJOR diplomatic row has erupted between Russia and the UK over the death of Paul Urey, a British aid worker who was held by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine, in detention. While British foreign secretary Liz Truss said Moscow must bear full responsibility for the 45-year-old man’s death and the UK summoned the Russian ambassador on its soil, Andrey Kelin, to express “deep concerns”, Russia has hit back at the UK saying holding it responsible for Urey’s death was “ridiculous”.

According to a report by Russia’s state-controlled news agency TASS, Kelin told the Rossiya-24 television on Tuesday (19) that Russia negated the UK’s attempts to holding it responsible for the death who he called a “British mercenary” in the “Donetsk People’s Republic”.

Kelin added that he was summoned to the British foreign office on July 15 where the British diplomats spoke in a “high-pitched arrogant” tone to hold Russia responsible for Urey’s death on July 10.

“Laying responsibility on us – on Russia as a state – well, it’s ridiculous, of course. We refuse to accept this responsibility, they [the mercenaries] are under the jurisdiction of another country, namely the Donetsk People’s Republic, and the trial held there has jurisdiction over them,” Kelin said.

According to the Russian envoy, Urey died of diabetes even though necessary medical aid was given to him while British officials made no attempt to held him despite knowing his condition. Urey’s family claimed on the other hand that the Russians had tortured him in captivity.

“They could have [provided the assistance] via the [International Committee of the] Red Cross or through their channels available in Donbass, or via the military. They had a set of tools at their disposal, yet nothing had been done, London had made no inquiries about his health,” Kelin said.

“Those (other British people held in Russia) have already been tried, and had their appeals filed, and so forth. [No] action whatsoever has yet been taken [by London],” he added.