From the Skripal spy poisoning case: New tensions between the East and West bloc

Former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in the UK. Photo: Sky News

During a midweek parliamentary question-and-answer session, British Prime Minister Theresa May answered MPs about sanctions against Russia following the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Youlia Skripal in the southern English city on March 4.

Mrs May announced that within eight days she would expel 23 Russian diplomats who are intelligence officers. Their names will not be published to avoid affecting their intelligence network. Other retaliatory measures, including freezing high-level bilateral relations with Moscow, were also taken.

Mrs May also said she had raised the issue with NATO, the United Nations and the European Union. “This happened in the UK but it could happen anywhere and we must unite against it,” she said during her first visit to Salisbury since the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

At the same time, welcome the support of the US, Germany, France and other countries allied with the UK and call on allied countries to unite to jointly impose sanctions on Russia.

Not only stopping at retaliatory sanctions, the UK also announced that Prince William and Harry will not attend the World Cup held in Russia. However, analysts say that London's measures will not have much impact on the Kremlin.

For a country that does not hesitate to assassinate former spies and foreign rivals, soft power measures have their limits. And the Kremlin will only seriously consider them if it knows that other powers are united and united in taking measures against Moscow.

Returning to the assassination of former double agent Sergei Skripal, on March 14, Britain, Germany, France and the United States issued a joint statement declaring Russia’s responsibility as a reasonable explanation for the incident. At the same time, they asked Russia to provide all information about the Novitchok poison, which the West said was researched and produced by scientists in the former Soviet Union since the 1980s.

British Prime Minister Theresa May answers questions in Parliament about sanctions against Russia on March 14. Photo: Reuters

NATO, for its part, has identified the assassination of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter as a case covered by its articles of association. In a statement, NATO expressed “deep concern” over “the use of nerve agents on Alliance territory” since its founding in 1949.

With the wording in the statement, NATO is defining the assassination as a chemical weapons attack carried out in one of its member states even though it was aimed at an individual rather than at that country.

The United States, a key NATO member, said it agreed with the United Kingdom that Russia was responsible for the attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, who are both in critical condition. The White House said Russia's actions were a repeated challenge to the international order, sovereignty and democratic processes in Western countries.

And the US “is working with our allies to ensure this heinous attack never happens again.” In clear words, this time even President Donald Trump, who has always been accommodating to his counterpart Vladimir Putin, changed his tone.

The White House spokesman even increased sanctions against Russia for its involvement in the 2016 US presidential election. A total of 19 individuals and 5 entities, including Russia's domestic intelligence agency and military intelligence agency, were involved in this new sanctions.

In a new move, French President Emmanuel Macron said he had canceled plans to visit Russia's official booth at the book exhibition opening on the evening of March 15 in Paris and added that appropriate measures would be adopted soon.

In response to these accusations, on March 15, Russia once again strongly denied the allegations related to the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter. At the same time, it announced that it was preparing appropriate response measures.

Looking back at the reactions of the countries this time, analysts believe that the crisis between the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation will enter a long-term crisis, far beyond the relationship between the two countries. This is completely predictable. Especially looking back at the relationship between Russia and Western countries from the past until now, which has been "not good rice, not sweet soup".

Many people also believe that the assassination is just an excuse for the West to increase pressure on Russia. Especially in the context of disagreements between Russia and the West on many hot issues in the world that have not been resolved, the Russian presidential election is approaching with victory leaning towards President Vladimir Putin.