Global geopolitical Series: UK’s accusation of Russia should be taken with pinch of salt

A major diplomatic crisis has broken out between the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation, where the UK has accused Russia of poisoning a former spy Sergey Skripal, who acted as a double agent for the United Kingdom using a banned chemical substance known as the Novichok, which was created as a part of the chemical weapons program of the former Soviet Union in the 1980s. The UK Prime Minister Theresa May accused Russia to be behind the attack and expelled 23 Russian diplomats from the country among other measures. The UK is coordinating with its allies to toughen the sanctions on Russia. Russia has also expelled 23 British diplomats in response and denied the allegations.

However, all the accusation targeting Russia should be taken with a pinch of salt. Why? Because the history of western deception suggests so.

Let’s take a look at history and Syria in 2013 when the U.S. President Barrack Obama’s red line was crossed as the West and its media accused the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad of using chemical weapons on civilians. As the Western allies toughened military positions against Assad regime, the UN experts found that it was actually the rebels who used chemical weapons possibly to frame the Assad regime. Do you think, it is Russian propaganda? Here is the link to the Reuters’ report on that,  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-un/u-n-has-testimony-that-syrian-rebels-used-sarin-gas-investigator-idUSBRE94409Z20130505 , which said, “U.N. human rights investigators have gathered testimony from casualties of Syria’s civil war and medical staff indicating that rebel forces have used the nerve agent sarin……The United Nations independent commission of inquiry on Syria has not yet seen evidence of government forces having used chemical weapons, which are banned under international law.”

The report was quickly drowned and no one asked where the rebels have gotten the chemical weapons from.  

A similar attack was carried out in the rebel-controlled Idlib province in April 2017, on the very same day a powerful Assad (thanks to Russian intervention in favor of the Syrian government) was getting ready for the EU-UN peace conference. This time no independent investigation was carried out.

One can also refer to the wild accusation of Iraq possessing chemical weapons or weapons of mass destruction as a way to wage war back in 2002-03.

Russia could very well be behind the poisoning of Skripal but to accuse without independent investigation on the belief Russia is the only country to possess Novichok is too naïve and continuation of such policies endanger the world.