UK welcomes Russia defeat on joint chemical weapons inquiry

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson welcomed Russia's defeat on Wednesday in its attempt to get the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to back a joint investigation into the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Britain.

"Russia has had one goal in mind since the attempted murders on UK soil through the use of a military-grade chemical weapon -- to obscure the truth and confuse the public," Johnson said in a statement.

"The international community has yet again seen through these tactics and robustly defeated Russia's attempts today to derail the proper international process." 

Earlier, a diplomatic source told Reuters that Russia lost a vote 15-6 at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) seeking a new joint investigation into the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Britain, 

Russia had put forward a proposal for a joint investigation as Britain did not invite it to participate in a probe being carried out by the OPCW, results of which are due next week. 

China, Azerbaijan, Sudan, Algeria and Iran backed the Russian motion, the diplomatic source said. Seventeen member states abstained.