Global Geopolitical Series: Ex-spy poisoning triggers major diplomatic rift between UK and Russia

A major diplomatic rift has broken out between Russia and the United Kingdom over the alleged involvement of Russia in the poisoning of an ex-Russia spy and his daughter living in the United Kingdom using a banned chemical agent.

The event began last Sunday when a former Russian spy and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury last Sunday, about 145 kilometers from London. Sergei Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia are currently in critical condition and are fighting for their lives in a local hospital, after reportedly being poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent. Skripal served as a colonel in Russia’s GRU military intelligence. He worked as a double agent, passing secrets to Britain’s MI6 intelligence agency. He was convicted in Russia in 2006 and sentenced to 13 years in prison. In 2010, however, he was one of the four prisoners Moscow swapped for spies with Britain. He was flown to the UK, where he has since been residing. Yulia Skripal is believed to have been visiting her father from Moscow, at the time of the attack.

The chemical agent that is in question here is Novichok, a powerful nerve agent which was developed in the former Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s.

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May Tuesday after her meeting with her national security team and careful analysis accused Russia of being behind the attack, saying that it was highly likely that Moscow was responsible for either poisoning the duo or allowing the nerve agent to get into the hands of others. Speaking in UK’s Parliament, May gave Russia 24 hrs. to respond to UK query. She was quoted by Reuters as saying, “Should there be no credible response, we will conclude that this action amounts to an unlawful use of force by the Russian state against the United Kingdom.”

Russia remained defiant despite pressure from the United Kingdom saying that the country has nothing to do with the poisoning. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow would not respond to the British demand for answers. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it had summoned British Ambassador to Moscow Laurie Bristow. No further details were provided. Mr. Lavrov explained that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) rules allow Britain, in this case, to send a request to Russia on the suspected Russian-made chemical weapon and expect a response within 10 days, and If the response is not satisfactory, Britain would have to file a complaint with the organization’s executive council and the conference of CWC member-states.

Russia foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova turned up the heat by pointing to the fact that it is not wise to deliver a 24-hour ultimatum to a nuclear-armed state like Russia.