OVER the past few days, relations between Russia and the Western bloc — led by the US and UK — have plummeted to depths reminiscent of the Cold War era, when the Soviets and the free world were locked in a global ideological struggle. At the centre of the current storm is the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter with a nerve agent in the English town of Salisbury earlier this month. Both victims survived the attack but are not completely out of danger yet. Britain has blamed Moscow for the attack, an allegation the Russians have dismissed. However, the poisoning has had far-reaching consequences, with scores of diplomats belonging to both camps being given marching orders. The US has expelled 60 Russian diplomats along with closing Moscow’s consulate in Seattle, while Russia has responded by sending 60 Americans home and ordering the closure of the US consulate in St Petersburg. As reported in the media, 29 states have sent nearly 150 Russian diplomats home, while Nato has also taken similar steps. It is, therefore, understandable why the UN secretary general has said that the situation resembles “what we lived during the Cold War”.
Perhaps at the core of the current stand-off is the fact that under Vladimir Putin, Russia has attempted to reclaim the position it occupied on the world stage during the heyday of the USSR. Many in the West have not taken well to Moscow’s policies; in a number of global hotspots, Russia and the Western bloc are supporting completely different positions. Ukraine, Syria and the Iranian nuclear question are some examples where Russia’s and the West’s policies are diametrically opposite. Moreover, with many former Soviet satellites being absorbed into Nato, Moscow has viewed this as an incursion into its sphere of influence. It is in this perspective that the current row over the spy’s poisoning must be seen. However, the world order has already been shaken by a number of crises — militancy, failing states, the right wing capturing state power in capitals around the globe. Therefore, both Moscow and its Western counterparts need to step back and try to prevent the further souring of ties. Diplomatic channels should be kept open while Russia should cooperate with the British authorities to investigate the Salisbury poisoning. The world definitely does not need a return to the bad old days of the Cold War.
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