Pavel Felgenhauer, RCD: Moscow Surprised by Western Show of Solidarity With Britain
The strong demonstration of Western solidarity with the United Kingdom in response to the March 4 poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England, by a nerve agent known as “Novichok,” secretly developed in the Soviet Union, has apparently caught Moscow by surprise. Some 28 countries, together with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), announced they are expelling over 150 Russian diplomats allegedly connected to Moscow’s intelligence services. Four states—Luxemburg, Malta, Portugal and Slovakia—have recalled their ambassadors from Moscow “for consultations,” in solidarity with Britain, without expelling diplomats. Russian officials angrily denounced the mass expulsions. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has promised a “strong response” and accused Western governments of “blindly yielding to a campaign of colossal pressure and blackmail coming from Washington” (Interfax, March 28).
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WNU editor: They are circling the wagons in Russia .... again. The Russian Foreign Ministry underestimated the reaction .... my guess is that they felt that it would blow over in a few weeks. I also felt the same way. The original explanation from the U.K. that Russia was behind this nerve agent attack did not make sense to me. Why would Russia want to poison an ex-spy who no longer was of value to anyone did not make sense to me. But the U.K. clearly made the case to almost every Western ally who paid attention that Russia was involved .... hence the coordinated expulsions.