Eye Spy - May 2018

58 EYE SPY INTELLIGENCE MAGAZINE 115 2018

AFTERMATH

SKRIPAL SANCTION

Dear ambassador... persona non grata

Skripal assassination attempt recognised by West as a Kremlin

sanctioned act and leads to the expulsion of nearly 150

unregistered ‘diplomats’ (intelligence officers) by UK allies

erhaps a little surprisingly, the
international community re-
sponded robustly to the poisoning
of Sergei Skripal and his daughter
Yulia. In addition to the United
PStates, France and Germany - the
first to take a stand, the EU’s 27 leaders
unanimously backed the UK’s assessment
that the Kremlin was directly responsible for
the assassination attempt.

While denying any part in the poisoning of the

Skripals (direct or indirect), Russia in recent

years has built a reputation of flouting

international norms, notably with its 2014

annexation of Crimea, the shooting down of a

Malaysian passenger plane over eastern

Ukraine, and multiple instances of cyber

warfare. In all cases, Russia simply re-

sponded with a denial, an alternative con-

spiracy theory or placing blame elsewhere.

Either way, few outside the intelligence

community really understand the prowess of

Russia and its powerful intelligence collection

system... and global reach.

COMMENTARY

Britain’s Defence Minister Gavin Williamson

said: “The world’s patience is wearing rather

thin with President Putin and his actions.” He

said this was evidenced by the fact that “right

across the NATO alliance and across the

European Union, nations have stood up in

suppor t of the United Kingdom.” He believes

the response was the best that the UK could

ever have received. “Their (the Kremlin’s)

intention is to divide and what we are seeing is

the world uniting behind the British stance and

that in itself is a great victory and sends an

exceptionally powerful message to the Kremlin

and President Putin.”

Vladimir Inozemtsev, a Russian scholar at the

Polish Institute of Advanced Studies in

Warsaw, agreed: “The attempted murder of Mr

Skripal on British soil was the straw that broke

the camel’s back. Western leaders finally

decided that enough is enough because

Moscow has played the denial game so many

times and showed no real interest in establish-

ing the truth.”

America’s response was dramatic. A senior

US administration official said: “We stand in

solidarity with America’s closest ally, the

United Kingdom. To the Russian government

we say: ‘When you attack our friends you will

face serious consequences.’” President Trump

expelled 60 Russian diplomats - 48 based at

the Russian Embassy and 12 at Russia’s

United Nations’ mission. The Russian

consulate in Seattle will also be closed.

Gavin Williamson

“delighted” with

international

response President Trump

A White House statement read: ‘The actions

make the United States safer by reducing

Russia’s ability to spy on Americans and to

conduct covert operations that threaten

America’s national security. With these steps,

the United States and our allies and partners

make clear to Russia that its actions have

consequences. The United States stands