Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that the two suspects in the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are "civilians, not criminals".

Putin said that his government had found the pair and he hoped they would appear soon and tell their story. "We know who they are, we have found them," he told the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok city. "I hope they will turn up themselves and tell everything. This would be best for everyone. There is nothing special there, nothing criminal, I assure you. We'll see in the near future," he was quoted as saying by Sputnik news agency.