A Russian lawmaker has described a second case of poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok in southern England as part of British efforts to tarnish the Russia-hosted World Cup and fuel tensions ahead of a planned U.S.-Russian summit.

Sergei Zheleznyak, a member of the parliament's foreign affairs committee, said the poisoning of a couple in Amesbury on Saturday is "a continuation of an anti-Russian PR hysteria that British authorities are trying to create."

Zheleznyak noted that "this is happening amid a quite strong positive emotional wave from British fans who came to Russia to support their team during the World Cup." He added that a positive perception of Russia ran contrary to the official narrative and blamed British authorities for presenting what could have been a drug overdose as another Novichok poisoning.