Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that his Government has identified the two men suspected of poisoning Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in March.

Speaking at an economic forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok yesterday, President Putin said:  "We know who they are, we have found them.”

He denied claims that the men worked for the Russian military and described them as “civilians.”

"There is nothing special or criminal about it, I can assure you," he said.

"I would like to call on them so that they can hear us today.

"They should go to some media outlet. I hope they will come forward and tell about themselves."

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he delivers a speech during a plenary session at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, 12-09-2018. Image: AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky

The UK government recently announced its conclusion that the men were members of Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU – and that their actions would have been signed off at a senior government level.

UK Police published a detailed photographic account of the men's movements while they were in the UK.

The Crown Prosecution Service named the men as Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov but said those names were likely to be false.

In the British House Of Commons, UK Prime Minister Theresa May accused Russia or “repeatedly” responding to request for information on the incident with “obfuscation and lies.”

Later, the leaders of France, Germany, the US and Canada announced their 'full confidence' in the British government's allegation that the two suspects in the Salisbury investigation were Russian intelligence officers.

However, at the UN Security Council the Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya accused the UK of ‘repeating the same lies’ in an attempt to “unleash a disgusting anti-Russian hysteria.”

Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found slumped on a bench in Salisbury in March and tests found they had been poisoned with the deadly nerve agent novichok.

The Skripals recovered but British woman Dawn Sturgess died after finding a discarded perfume bottle that authorities believe was used to transport the novichok.