The former agent’s ＂poisoning＂ caused the relationship between Britain and Russia to fall to ＂MINUS 23 degrees Celsius＂

　　Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 15th (International observation) The poisoning incident of former agents fermented the sharp decline of British-Russian relations.

　　Xinhua News Agency reporter Gui Tao An Xiaomeng WU GANG

　　British Prime Minister Theresa May announced on the 14th that Britain has decided to take a series of measures, including expelling 23 Russian diplomats, in retaliation for Russia’s alleged involvement in the poisoning incident of former Russian agents in Britain. The Russian Embassy in Britain posted on social networking sites that the relationship between Britain and Russia has fallen to "minus 23 degrees Celsius", but Russia is not afraid of the cold.

　　Analysts pointed out that with the continuous fermentation of the "poisoning" incident, the relationship between Russia and Britain has rapidly cooled down, and the relationship between Russia and other western countries has also deteriorated.

　　"Poisoning" event heats up

　　British media reported earlier this month that former Russian agent Krippahl and his daughter were unconscious on a bench in the street of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England on the 4th. British police said that two people were poisoned by nerve agents. The British government said that the "poisoning" incident involved the use of a military-grade nerve agent, and Russia was "very likely" to have something to do with it.

　　Britain issued an ultimatum to Russia on the 12th, demanding that Russia explain the "poisoning" incident within 24 hours. Russia said that it would never accept the so-called "ultimatum" that Britain violated international law.

　　The Russian side stated that according to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the questioned country has the right to know and test the chemical substances involved. After Britain claimed that former Russian agents were "poisoned", Russia learned about the chemicals involved in the case from Britain through diplomatic notes, but the British refused to disclose details. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that Russia is willing to cooperate with the British side to investigate this case if the British side can act in accordance with international law.

　　May read a statement in the lower house of parliament on the 14th, saying that the expelled diplomats should leave within one week. Other retaliatory measures include: suspending all planned high-level bilateral activities between Britain and Russia, and members of the British cabinet and royal family will not attend the World Cup in Russia this summer.

　　At the request of Britain, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on the afternoon of 14th to consider the poisoning incident. Jonathan Allen, Chargé d ‘affaires of the British Permanent Mission to the United Nations, said that the British government believed that it was "very likely" that Russia had created the incident, and pointed out that it was an illegal use of force, which violated the Charter of the United Nations.

　　Vasily Niebianjia, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said that the British accusation was "totally unacceptable". At the same time, he also said that the accusations against Russia by some countries are the usual propaganda means, which are intended to discredit Russia. He asked the parties concerned to provide physical evidence and stressed the importance of seeing hard evidence.

　　Britain-Russia relations cool down.

　　After Britain announced a series of measures against Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that Britain’s move was an unprecedented provocation, which undermined the basis of normal dialogue between the two countries. Russia’s response to Britain "will not wait too long." The statement said that Britain did not investigate the case according to international standard procedures, but chose to confront Russia. Obviously, the British side conducted a unilateral opaque investigation to launch anti-Russian activities again.

　　Peskov, press secretary of Russian President, reiterated on 14th that Russia did not participate in the investigation of the poisoning incident of former Russian agents, so it was impossible to give any statement about the incident, not to mention that the incident did not happen in Russian territory.

　　Alexei Fenenko, a senior researcher at the Institute of International Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that poisoning former agents is not beneficial to Russia, but it is very beneficial to Britain because it can give Britain an excuse to accuse Russia of interfering in its internal affairs.

　　Russian media generally believe that there is absolutely no need for Russia to take the actions accused by the British side when Russia is about to usher in the presidential election and the World Cup. The British used the "poisoning" incident to speculate on the Russian threat in order to create obstacles to the Russian presidential election and the World Cup. Some Russian media even pointed out that Russia and Britain are on the brink of war.

　　Analysts believe that the relationship between Britain and Russia has been tense in recent years, and the two sides have conflicts on issues such as Syria and cyber security. This "poisoning" incident has undoubtedly cast a greater shadow over the relations between the two countries.

　　The West puts pressure on Russia.

　　At the meeting of the UN Security Council on 14th, representatives of the United States, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and other western countries supported the British position.

　　Heili, the permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, said that the United States government "stands firmly with Britain" and asked Russia to shoulder the heavy responsibility of being a permanent member of the Security Council and actively cooperate with the British investigation. French representative Delatre said that this incident is a serious threat to international peace and security, and those who manufacture and use such chemical weapons must not go unpunished.

　　The NATO Council, the decision-making body of NATO, issued a statement on the 14th, expressing serious concern about the recent "poisoning" incident and calling on Russia to pay attention to the demands of Britain.

　　Bogdan Bez Palicot, a Russian political analyst, said that western countries are now looking for any excuse to accuse Russia and impose sanctions on it, including the doping incident, Russia’s actions in Syria and the poisoning incident of former agents. He believes that it is not a coincidence that Russia is about to hold a presidential election and the "poisoning" incident occurred at this time.

　　Analysts believe that as the "poisoning" incident continues to ferment, it is not ruled out that Britain’s western allies will continue to put pressure on Russia and launch sanctions, and the relationship between Russia and western countries will probably deteriorate.