In what appears to be a rerun of Malaysia-vs-North Korea episode, Britain has threatened to take action against Russia for allegedly unleashing chemical attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. Theresa May had earlier issued Russian President Vladimir Putin 24 hours to respond to claims that Russia was responsible.
May said in parliament on Monday that the UK would consider punitive measures if Russia did not meet a deadline of the end of Tuesday to explain itself. As deadline expires, Moscow offers zero explanation about how a Soviet-era nerve toxin was used to attack the former Russian double agent – a former Russian spy turned British MI6 agent.
Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found slumped unconscious on a bench outside a shopping centre in the genteel southern English city of Salisbury on March 4. They have been in a critical condition in hospital ever since. British scientists identified the poison as a military-grade nerve agent known as – Novichok – which was first developed in the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s.
However, Putin’s calling May bluff, didn’t even find it urgent enough to entertain the British prime minister. Russia’s embassy in London said – “Moscow will not respond to London’s ultimatum until it receives samples of the chemical substance. Any threat to take ‘punitive’ measures against Russia will meet with a response. The British side should be aware of that.”
Russian embassy in the UK also said – “Britain must comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention which stipulates joint investigation into the incident, for which Moscow is ready. Without that, there can be no sense in any statements from London. The incident appears to be yet another crooked attempt by the UK authorities to discredit Russia.”
Effectively, not only Russia conveniently rubbished UK’s accusation, it is also challenging Britain to show what sanctions it would impose against Russian interests. U.S. President Trump has not directly condemned Putin but merely told May by telephone that Russia “must provide unambiguous answers regarding how this Russian-made chemical weapon, was used in the United Kingdom.”
Does the whole plot sounds familiar? Of course, the same drama happened about a year ago in Malaysia. North Korean Kim Jong-nam was assassinated with VX nerve agent, a lethal chemical weapon, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak then blamed North Korean Kim Jong-un for the murder of his half brother.
Denying the accusation, North Korea had proposed a joint investigation with Malaysia into the assassination of Jong-nam, quite similar to the demand from Russia now for samples of the chemical substance. Of course, Malaysia refused North Korea’s participation in autopsy, the same way the United Kingdom has refused to give Russia any samples to be analysed.
Interestingly, as Donald Trump is happily making preparation to meet nemesis Kim Jong-un to shut down the prospect of World War 3, Theresa May foolishly trying to spark the World War 3. In a further blunt warning to the British prime minister, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said nobody should threaten a nuclear power.
So, what could Theresa May do in retaliation to the uncooperative Russia? Britain could call on Western allies for a coordinated response, freeze the assets of Russian business leaders and officials, limit their access to London’s financial centre, expel diplomats and even launch targeted cyber attacks. Heck, UK could also call for boycott of 2018 FIFA World Cup, which Russia is hosting in June-July.
Theresa May was indeed emboldened by supports from the U.S. and E.U. in the crisis. But will Trump really go for a new war with Russia, after his administration is about to close a painful chapter with North Korea? Does European Union have the stomach for imposing additional sanctions on Russia, over an ex-Russian spy, when the bloc is increasingly reliant on Moscow for gas than ever before?
Without her realizing it, Theresa’s threats have provided the bullets for Vladimir Putin to win his presidential election on Sunday in another meaningful way, not that the former KGB spy needs it in the first place. Putin wanted to show his people that Moscow is powerful. In the same breath, May thought an empty rhetoric could divert attention from her failure in fixing the Brexit problems.
Sure, Britain is a nuclear state. But in the game of brinkmanship, money is on Putin that he will be more than willing to unleash his newly found “invincible” nuclear intercontinental cruise missile. After all, when Putin invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, neither United Kingdom nor United States dared challenge the Russian supremo.
And like North Korea which calmly took 11 Malaysians hostage in Pyongyang after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak tried to pick a fight with the hermit kingdom, forcing the big-mouth Mr. Najib to release 3 North Korean suspects and every single North Korean citizens in Malaysia, Theresa May is about to be embarrassed in the same way.
When even the tough President Trump has not dared to attack a small pariah state like North Korea, aside from war of words, Prime Minister Theresa May is a moron if she thinks a military superpower like Russia could be intimidated by her. Perhaps the UK should look into the possibility of invoking Article 4 of the NATO Treaty for help.
Still, Theresa May’s biggest leverage is Russian money, targeting Russia’s two largest state-controlled banks, Sberbank and VTB, in London. She could also introduce so-called Magnitsky legislation similar to that in the U.S. which would enable the UK government to freeze assets and withhold visas from Russians accused of rights abuses. The question is: does May have the guts?
Perhaps Russian foreign minster Sergei Lavrov has provided the answer when he said to the British that “the era of colonialism is over”. So what if it was Russia who was behind the chemical attack? Perhaps Vladimir Putin wanted to send a message that he’s not afraid to kill traitors anywhere, even if they receive protection under the British Empire or even NATO.
Other Articles That May Interest You …
- Trump Meeting Kim – Don’t Count The Chicken Before It Hatches
- Cold War 2 – Putin Cuts 755 U.S. Diplomats, And The Number Surprises Americans
- S.O.S. China – Stupid & Arrogant Najib Causes Hostage Crisis In North Korea
- Malaysia VS North Korea – Two Rogue Nations Accusing Each Other As The Bad Guy
- Putin Worth $200 Billion – Why Dictators Are The Real World’s Richest Men
- Putin To Send Aircraft Carrier To Syria – To Wipe Out ISIS, To Humiliate NATO
- Incredible Photos Show 100-Year-Old Putin Is “Immortal”, A Time Traveler
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March 14th, 2018 by financetwitter
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Comments
Lee Kim Cheong Hit the nail on the head. Without CCGT the UK would be a frozen, barren landscape. Unless coal mining was re-started. Oh, that’s right, we couldn’t burn it anyway because we shut down the coal generation and sold all the plant !
This country has turned into the laughing stock of the planet.
As our foolish, moronic government squabble and bicker over, (a word that was invented to fulfill their vaccuous minds, (which I can’t bring myself to use, EVER)), the Westminster elected dictatorship are running the country into oblivion. Vlad must be pissing himself laughing at the latest events in Salisbury. These things don’t happen by accident. They happen by design. Our elected morons are walking right into this. They are on the hook, soon the line will be retracted and then…….
Your article hit the nail. As expected all UK can do is to expelled a few diplomats. Europe would not definitely interfere other than pay lip service. If not for Russian gas supplied to Europe a quarter of the population would be frozen to dead this winter which just passed. And you want to bitch about two Russian poisoned. Really a bloody fool.