"I don't believe it!" This was what Konstantin Stanislavsky, the
father of modern Russian theater, told actors when he was not satisfied
with their performance. The United Kingdom and its two dozen allies
around the world spoke on March 26 as a collective Stanislavsky.
"You are lying!" This is the message behind an unprecedented
expulsion of Russian diplomats by
countries of the European Union, the United States, Canada and
Australia. This demarche will now be included in all textbooks on the
history of international relations. Even Saddam Hussein and the Kim
dynasty in North Korea were spared such public humiliation. This is a
serious political and diplomatic victory for British Prime Minister
Theresa May.
Two elements of this drama drew my attention. Tiny
Iceland once challenged the mighty Soviet Union when it was the first to
recognize the restoration of Lithuania's independence in 1990.
On
Monday, Reykjavik announced a political and diplomatic boycott of
Moscow, although Iceland is not a member of the EU and has no special
relationship with Britain, unlike, say, Canada, Australia and the United
States. Secondly, the Kremlin's "best friend," Hungarian Prime Minister
Viktor Orban, decided to expel one Russian diplomat. The EU-bashing
populist leader, known for his good relations with Russian President
Vladimir Putin, showed where his real priorities lie.
And this may not be the end of the affair. European Council President
Donald Tusk said that EU member countries could take additional steps.
That is, those who have not yet expelled Russian diplomatic personnel,
like Slovakia or Portugal, can still do so. Experts of the Organization
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are analyzing the
substance that was used to poison
former British spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. If they
conclude that the substance was of Russian origin this could spur more
expulsions. Tokyo is also biding its time. The Japanese foreign ministry
says it is monitoring the situation closely but avoids answering the
question whether Washington's main Asian ally would support the British
and American position.
In
a normal democracy, such a large-scale and public diplomatic disaster
would have led to the resignation of top brass at the foreign ministry
and special services as well as immediate parliamentary inquiry. It
would have also greatly undermined the standing of the executive.
But
Russia is not a democracy. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday
defiantly went to play football with veterans of FC Spartak. The Russian
embassy in Washington responded to the expulsion of 60 Russian
operatives from the US with a Twitter joke. It asked its followers to
choose online which of the three US consulates in Russia Moscow should
close in response to the shutdown of the Russian consulate in Seattle.
Read more: Opinion: Vladimir Putin′s diplomatic catastrophe | Europe| News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 27.03.2018
