British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday that her government will suspend all high-level bilateral contacts with Russia over the poisoning of a double agent in an English city earlier this month.
No ministers or members of the Royal Family will attend the Summer World Cup in Russia, the Prime Minister told the House of Commons. The government has also decided to expel 23 Russian diplomats and withdraw an invitation for the Russian Foreign Minister to visit the country.
The Russian Embassy in London condemned the decision to expel its diplomats as a “hostile action” that was “totally unacceptable, unjustified and short-sighted… All the responsibility for the deterioration of the Russia-U.K. relationship lies with the current political leadership of Britain,” it said in a statement. The crisis broke out after the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. Earlier, the UK had asked Moscow to explain how Novichok, a military grade nerve agent developed by Russia, had come to be used in Salisbury.
Cautious tone
The Labour Party has taken a more cautious tone. While condemning the “appalling act of violence”, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn called for Britain’s response to be “decisive, proportionate”, guided by “the rule of law” and based on “clear evidence”. He questioned how the government had been able to rule out the possibility that the nerve agent had indeed managed to get out of state hands to another party, and if Russia’s request for a sample of the nerve agent had been met.
Ms. May spoke of the “strong support” she had received from allies, including Germany, France and the U.S. “We have agreed to cooperate closely in responding to this barbaric act and to coordinate our efforts to stand up for the rules-based international order which Russia seeks to undermine.” India’s position is understood to be that while it strongly condemns the action on British soil, it hopes that the issue should continue to be dealt with through dialogue between Britain and Russia.
Other actions being pushed by Britain are legislation enabling them to detain those suspected of hostile state activity at Britain’s border (the powers are currently restricted to those suspected of terrorism) and strengthening Britain’s ability to impose sanctions in response to violations of human rights — similar to the U.S.’s Magnitsky Act.
Using existing powers, checks would also increase on private flights, customs and freight, and Russian assets could be frozen if there was evidence they could be used to threaten the life or property of U.K. nationals or residents.
However, the Prime Minister did not refer to questions about the future of RT U.K., the British TV channel, formerly Russia Today. Earlier this week, regulator Ofcom said it would reconsider the status RT’s licence, because ANO TV Novosti, the holder of its licence, was financed from a budget of the Russian Federation.
RT has said it is a “valuable voice in the U.K. news landscape and that by linking RT to the Skripal developments, “Ofcom is conflating its role as a broadcasting regulator with the matters of state”. Russia has also warned it would take retaliatory action against the operation of British media in Russia if action against RT were taken.
