British precedent could play into Russia's hands

A cynical anti-Russian provocation with an attempt in the British city of Salisbury on spy defector Sergei Skripal sharply drew a line under the former relations of Russia and the European Union. The willingness to support the absurd and slanderous accusations of our country of this crime by the British Prime Minister Theresa May or her absence is now a clear indicator of attitude towards Russia.





What to the point. If the task of eliminating the defector were actually set before the Russian special services, then it could be carried out in hundreds of much simpler ways that would not have such an international resonance. A brick on his head, a scarf, an ice ax, a car collision, a staging under an armed robbery, but anything. But it is clear that the goal was just an international response, which is why the generally dangerous method of attempted assassination in a public place in the UK using nerve gas of allegedly Russian origin was chosen. The criminal investigation was not completed, the trial did not take place, the sentence was not passed. But Teresa May has indiscriminately appointed Russia as the culprit. And then the comments of Western "partners" are of the greatest interest. At a recent EU summit in Brussels, a joint statement was made:



The fact that the British intelligence services themselves could have stood behind the attempt, for example, is not even considered by the European allies of Great Britain. However, Theresa May’s office may well get political profit by diverting the attention of the British public from the troubled Brexit, and economic - due to confiscation of real estate and assets of Russian oligarchs associated with the Kremlin. Also, the assassination attempt on Skripal could have been carried out by the special services of the United States of America, possessing a large arsenal of chemical weapons, despite the fact that the developer of Novice, Wil Mirzayanov, has been living in the United States for many years. It is known that in the countries of Western Europe and in the United Kingdom, work was carried out to create chemical warfare agents. But all these arguments in Europe are not taken into account.

The countries of the European Union at the summit decided to withdraw the EU ambassador from Moscow in solidarity with Great Britain. What will this mean for our country? EU members are divided into 2 categories according to what position they take in relation to Russia in the “Skripal case”. Great Britain, Poland, the Baltic states, Sweden - our eternal opponents - no evidence in the case is needed. For them, Russia is always to blame for everything. On the whole, the friendly Czech Republic is considering the possibility of expelling several Russian diplomats from the country as a sign of solidarity with London.

But the countries of southern Europe, Italy and Austria are more constructive. Also, evidence in the case requires Angela Merkel. The German chancellor found herself in a difficult situation: some of the German elites are anti-Russian, another part is ready for mutually beneficial cooperation with the Russian Federation. Angela Merkel, on the one hand, expressing solidarity with the UK, on ​​the other hand, not wanting to take unnecessary losses due to the aggressive anti-Russian position of the United Kingdom, declared that the decision on further steps against Moscow is possible only when Brussels waits for the results of the analysis of the substance, used in the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter Julia.

It is clearly seen that even in the face of the "common enemy", Europe is not able to pursue a single political line. The split among EU countries is exacerbated as pressure on Russia intensifies.

It can be summarized that the situation with collective bullying by the West of Russia is difficult, but not hopeless.