Latest US Sanctions on Russia Trigger Fresh Doubts Over ‘Skripal Affair’

The US president Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 01 imposing additional sanctions on Russia on account of the country’s alleged involvement in the March 2018 poisoning of a Russian double agent and his daughter in the UK.

In the immediate aftermath of the Skripal pair’s poisoning, Britain initiated a wide-ranging diplomatic and political offensive against Russia which saw over 100 Russian diplomats expelled from various European Union countries as well as the United States.  

The latest US measure against Russia unfolds against a backdrop of lingering unanswered questions on the Skripals affair and the possible role of the British government in aggravating the whole issue.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident on March 04, 2018, Sergei Skripal’s daughter, Yulia, made a dramatic recovery. In fact, her recovery was so “miraculous” that some social media users commented that her post-poisoning appearance was markedly better than her pre-poisoning appearance.

Yulia Skripal’s markedly improved appearance, and her scripted message on camera, made some commentators question the official British version of events.

Writing in the online newspaper, Independent, on the first anniversary of the alleged poisoning, the title’s former foreign correspondent, Mary Dejevsky, speculated that Yulia’s scripted appearance before the cameras was intended to “reiterate” the official British version of events.  

Another questionable feature of the case was the British refusal to grant the Russian embassy in London consular access to the pair. Whilst it is understandable that the double agent, Sergei Skripal, would not want to see Russian embassy officials, his daughter Yulia has maintained throughout that she sees her future in Russia.

On a related point, whilst Yulia has been seen after the alleged poisoning attack, her father Sergei has never been seen again. Initially this led to rumours that he had been killed. But now key social media commentators, notably the specialist British blogger, Rob Slane, who has conducted an in-depth investigation into the affair, are wondering what the British government has done with Sergei Skripal.

There are other inconsistencies with the official British version of events. One glaring error was the British assertion from the outset that Russia was the only country to have manufactured the Novichok nerve agent – which was allegedly used in the attack.

This over-confident statement was contradicted by none other than the head of the United Kingdom’s own specialist defence research establishment at Porton Down. It emerged that at least two other nations, the Czechs and the Germans, have had access to the nerve agent since the mid-1990s.

In view of these inconsistencies, and wider doubts surrounding the whole incident, the imposition of additional sanctions is likely to be seen as another desperate attempt to find excuses to impose penalties on Russia. 

By Rupert Cansell, Investigative journalist 

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