Alexander Litvinenko, Alexander Perepelichny, Sergei Skripal
The attack on Russian-born double agent Sergei Skripal was demonstrative, Polish political analyst Witold Radkiewicz said in Belsat TV program Prasviet (World and Us).
Mr Radkiewicz, who works for the state-run Centre For Eastern Studies in Warsaw, is the author of the analytical report ‘Russia’s Attack On Great Britain: Goals And Consequences’.
In his opinion, the main purposes of the attackers was intimidating and proving that they are ready to go to any length. Their major targets were Russia’s Western antagonists, primarily the United States and the United Kingdom, the expert believes.
“Taking into account its demonstrative character and the time of the attack, we can conclude that it was not without reason. Such an attack must have been deliberately planned at the highest political level. I think the underlying reason behind the attack is the Kremlin’s fear of Washington’s taking measures. Yes, it is a message to Washington that they are wary of U.S. retaliation for Russia’s actions during the presidential campaign in the United States,” Radkiewicz said.
According to the political analyst, it is the demonstration that strikes the eye in this story. Russia wanted the murders of spy Alexander Litvinenko and banker Perepelichny to go unnoticed, he stated.
“One could have never known that Litvinenko had been poisoned. I saw the test results which said that if he had died earlier, the real cause of death would have hardly been ascertained, because no one could imagine that polonium had been used. Then the reason was also unknown, but now we have been witnesses to the demonstrative character of the attack. It was clear that they [UK] would find out pretty quickly what it was,” he stressed.
Businessman Alexander Perepelichny, who also had fled Russia, was reported to have died of a heart attack, but forensic doctors and specialists needed to carry out several examinations to detect rare toxic agents in his body. Someone wanted to sell the murder as a natural death, Witold Radkiewicz believes.
In his view, it is highly unlikely that a war will start over the incident in Salisbury.
“I do not think that Russia wants a big war, say nothing of the West. Perhaps, some escalation, tension is looming. Conflicts might further develop, but there is a low probability of a major war,” Radkiewicz said.
***
On March 4, Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yuliya, 33, were found unconscious at a shopping mall in the English town of Salisbury. The two were taken to hospital in critical condition. The were reportedly poisoned following exposure to an unknown substance.
On Monday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said that Skripal and his daughter had been poisoned with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia. She gave Russia time until midnight on Tuesday to explain why a Soviet-era nerve agent was used in the attack. But Moscow said it would not give any explanation until it has access to the evidential materials (nerve agent samples) of the Skripal case. Moreover, Maria Zakharova, Spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, called May’s speech a ‘circus show in the British parliament’ and dropped a threatening hint.
Sergei Skripal was arrested by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in December 2004. An investigation revealed that back in 1995, he was recruited by the British intelligence to provide information constituting state secrets. In August 2006, the Moscow District Military Court sentenced Skripal to 13 years in a maximum security correctional facility, also stripping him of his military rank and state awards.
On July 9, 2010, when Russia and the United States carried out a spy swap, Skripal was handed over to the US alongside three other convicts, while Moscow received ten Russian citizens in return.
- ‘Sarcasm, contempt and defiance’: UK expels 23 Russian diplomats over Salisbury incident
- ‘No poison on his plate’: Lukashenka kids Putin about Litvinenko’s murder
- Putin’s trace in heinous murder of Alexander Litvinenko
Belsat.eu
