While they may have passed Sergei Skripal's home during their visit to Salisbury (CCTV showed them nearby),"we don't know where it's located"and"I'd never heard this name before,"Boshirov said.
British officials had a more sinister explanation:Petrov and Boshirov were highly trained military intelligence agents sent by the Kremlin to Salisbury to smear the deadly Novichok on the front door of a former Russian spy.
Both were charged in absentiaby Britain last week for trying to kill Skripal and his daughter,Yulia.
But they proclaimed their innocence denying they were agents of the military intelligence service widely known as the GRU.
"Our friends had been suggesting for quite a long time that we visit this wonderful city,"Petrov said.
"They have a famous cathedral there,"Boshirov said,adding studiously:"It is famous for its 123-metre spire."
The interviewer,RT's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan,at times seemed more interested in insinuations about the men's personal relationship than their alleged military status."All footage features you two together,"she told them."You spent time together,you lived together,you went for a walk together. What do you have in common that you spend so much time together?"
"Let's not breach anyone's privacy,"Boshirov replied."We came to you for protection,but this is turning into some kind of interrogation."
Simonyan later wrote on Twitter:"Guys,I don't know if they're gay or not". She'd poured them some brandy"for courage". They'd been"extremely nervous and sweating"during the interview and it was for viewers to decide whether to believe them,she said.
James Slack,spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May,derided the pair's claims as"lies and blatant fabrications."
"More importantly,they are deeply offensive to the victims and loved ones of this horrific attack,"he said.
Britain said the attack was almost certainly approved"at a senior level of the Russian state,"an allegation that Moscow has vehemently denied.
Skripal,a Russian military intelligence officer turned double agent for Britain,and his visiting daughter fell ill March 4. An investigating police officer also was hospitalised for about three weeks. In June,two local residents who apparently came across a discarded vial that contained the poison fell ill,and one of them died.
Britain identified the Russian suspects last week and released security-camera photos of them in Salisbury on March 3 and 4.
The surprise TV appearance by Petrov and Boshirov camea day after President Vladimir Putin said Russian authorities knew the identities of the two men but insisted that they were civilians and there was"nothing criminal"about them. He urged them to contact the media,and Petrov said he heard Putin's statement on the radio and subsequently contacted Simonyan.
Petrov said that on their first trip to Salisbury,they were unable to make it from the train station to the cathedral - about 800 metres - because of snow and slush. Much of Britain suffered such weather that day.
The weather was better the next day,when the two were caught on camera at the Salisbury rail station at 11.48am. Ten minutes later,another camera found them walking in the direction of Skripal's house - the opposite direction from the cathedral.
They again were recorded in the centre of town an hour later and were at the station by 1.50pm,two hours after arriving.
"We walked around,enjoying those beautiful English Gothic buildings,"Boshirov said. They got a flight back to Russia later that evening.
Britain alleges the nerve agent used to poison the Skripals was carried in a perfume vial,which Boshirov dismissed by saying"Don't you think it's kind of stupid for two straight men to carry perfume for ladies?"
They declined to give any other details about their lives,except to say they work in the nutritional supplements business.
"The whole situation is an incredible,fatal coincidence,and that's that,"Petrov said."What is our fault?"
Boshirov said they now"fear for our lives".
Boshirov did not react to the interviewer's request to show the pictures they took on that trip,only saying that he found Salisbury Cathedral"very beautiful."
John Glen,the Parliament member for Salisbury,offered a wry comment about the pair's visit to his town,tweeting:"Delighted to see that Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were able to see the world-class attractions that Salisbury has to offer. But very strange to come all this way for just two days while carrying Novichok in their luggage."
Bloomberg,Reuters,AP