The ties between Russia and Britain are not normalising in the days to come. It seems that sending 23 Russian diplomats back Russia by Theresa May was not enough to register a strong protest with Russia over its involvement in the attempted murder of a former Russian spy. European Union (EU) and the United States, have also decided to follow suit by expelling more than 100 Russian diplomats to leave the host countries within one week.
Russia’s commitment to return the favour will lead to dividing the globe once again in opposite poles. Instead of taking balanced measures against Russia, Britain and its allies preferred to jump to the conclusion that Russia was involved in the attack. Refusing Russia’s request to share the samples of the nerve agent and the latest move made by 14 EU countries and the US will close all doors of cooperation between the two sides as Putin has vowed to take symmetric actions.
Moreover, it will have its resonance in other parts of the world, especially in the Middle East in general and in Syria in particular, where without Russia’s aid the Western powers would find a hard time in defeating militants of Islamic State (IS). No matter how many sessions in the UN are devoted to the on-going civil war in Syria, Russia’s cooperation is must to bring normalcy to the region.
In the midst of such hostility, the possibility is the emergence of a new cold war. Such assumption is not naïve. Republicans and Democrats alike are critical of Trump for not being tougher on Russia. Blaming Russia for failures at home and abroad have already paved the way for increased hostility between the two countries. Instead of displaying a hawkish attitude towards Kremlin, the sane approach will be engaging Russia in a robust dialogue over its stockpiles of chemical weapons, if there is any remaining, and sharing evidence with Kremlin as the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, demands.