In March 2018, Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer, and his daughter Yulia, were poisoned with a nerve agent while in Salisbury, England. As of 9 March 2018, they remain in a critical condition at Salisbury District Hospital. The poisoning is being investigated as an attempted murder. A policy investigator and analyst, a political scientist and expert on Eastern Europe, Phil Butler has given commentary concerning the issue.
NF: Poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal has sparked yet another major row between Russia and the West amid several upcoming events. Was it calculated strategy directed to undermine them?
Phil Butler: We would be naive at this point if we assumed this latest provocation is not part of a greater plan to undermine the upcoming World Cup, for instance. So there’s a triple purpose for it: to jab back at Putin for the killer missiles warning; to interfere in his election as best they can and to start the process of banning Western footballers from going to Russia. If they can make Russia a terrorist state, they can tell everybody in FIFA to stay home.
NF: Some high ranking officials suggest that Skripal was poisoned by British intelligence who enlisted the support of the American colleagues. Can this be true?
Phil Butler: Ten years ago the spy-versus-spy stories we see today would be classified “conspiracy theories.” As we see, over and over, the “conspiracy” is the reality. Of course, the clear desperation on the part of the Brits and the elites in America ensures the so-called “deep state” agencies are probably involved.
NF: Following all this, Theresa May announced new sanctions against Russia. Will it affect the situation in the country?
Phil Butler: May and her colleagues are beating war drums. The brandishing of stern rhetoric in parliament today is posturing, but it could also be a fearful response to Mr. Putin’s nuclear warnings. Hopeful as we may all be, this situation is not going to get better. Detente has died.
Reporting by Catherine Nollan