On the heels of UK PM May's red hot rhetoric and ultimatum yesterday and Germany's pressure this morning, Russia has cranked up their response to '11' on the Spinal Tap amplifier of global armageddon
Having made clear this morning that:
“We have certainly heard the ultimatum voiced in London,” Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said.
“The spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry has commented on our attitude to this,” he added referring to Maria Zakharova branding of May’s appearance in Parliament as a “circus.”
Russia faces warning from Germany too, as Reuters reports Merkel and May spoke this morning about the nerve agent attack.
Merkel condemned the attack and stated that she was "taking very seriously the British government's view that Russia might be responsible." Merkel then said Russia "needs to give prompt answers to the British' justified questions."
But then, Interfax reports Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova turned up the heat dramatically, warning (or threatening):
"One does not give 24 hours notice to a nuclear power" adding that the "Skripal poisoning was not an incident but a colossal international provocation."
She also slammed the British for "not using a single international legal mechanism to probe the Skripal case."
Additionally, in a series of tweets the Russian embassy in the UK said:
“Moscow will not respond to London’s ultimatum until it receives samples of the chemical substance to which the UK investigators are referring.
“Britain must comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention which stipulates joint investigation into the incident, for which Moscow is ready.
“Without that, there can be no sense in any statements from London. The incident appears to be yet another crooked attempt by the UK authorities to discredit Russia.
“Any threat to take ‘punitive’ measures against Russia will meet with a response. The British side should be aware of that.
6/7 Any threat to take “punitive” measures against Russia will meet with a response. The British side should be aware of that. pic.twitter.com/DFAaB5orQE
— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) March 13, 2018
“Today the Embassy sent a note to the Foreign Office reiterating that Russia is not involved in the Salisbury incident and outlining the above mentioned demands for joint investigation.”
The embassy added: “UK Ambassador Laurence Bristow was summoned to Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs, where first deputy FM Vladimir Titov strongly protested the evidence-free accusations by the UK authorities of Russia’s alleged involvement in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
“It was stated that the actions of the UK authorities are a clear provocation and that the Russian Federation was not involved in the incident that took place in Salisbury on March 4, 2018."
Meanwhile, the Press Association reports that Russia has warned Britain to "consider the consequences" of mounting a retaliatory cyber strike after the Salisbury spy poisoning.
In a fresh sign of the escalating diplomatic tension sparked by the case, the Russian Embassy cautioned against "such a reckless move".
Responding to the speculation, the Russian Embassy in the UK said: "Statements by a number of MPs, 'Whitehall sources' and 'experts' regarding a possible 'deployment' of 'offensive cyber-capabilities' cause serious concern.
"Not only is Russia groundlessly and provocatively accused of the Salisbury incident, but apparently, plans are being developed in the UK to strike Russia with cyber weapons.
Additionally, Zakharova stated that British Prime Minister Theresa May apparently has no actual facts concerning the poisoning of former Russian military intelligence Colonel Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
Finally, following reports that Britain’s media regulator Ofcom said Russian broadcaster RT could lose its UK licence if Theresa May’s government determines that Moscow was behind the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in England this month, Russia's foreign ministry threatened retaliation:
This escalation is far from over.
While mystery still surrounds the statement by now-former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who on Monday - when he already knew he was fired - said that Moscow is "clearly" behind the poisoning of Russian double-agent Skripal in the UK and that the Russian action would "trigger a response", and whether this was a tacit defiance of Trump as he no longer had anything to lose, it is clear that relations between Russia and the US, if not so much Trump, are once again at rock bottom, if not worse.
Confirming this, one week after the WaPo reported that the US is considering new military action against Syria over Assad's alleged chemical weapons attacks (as on every other prior occasion), the Russian military threatened action against the U.S. if it strikes Syria's capital city of Damascus.
The threat, by Chief of Russia's General Staff Valery Gerasimov, was reported by Russia media sites such as state news agencies RIA and Tass, according to CNBC.
The General also said Russia had "reliable information" about militants preparing to falsify a government chemical attack against civilians. In other words, another US-false flag attack, like the one launched in 2013 which nearly caused military conflict between Russia and the US.
Gerasimov predicted that the U.S. would then use this attack to accuse Syrian government troops of using chemical weapons. He added that the U.S. would then plan to launch a missile strike on government districts in Damascus.
"In several districts of Eastern Ghouta, a crowd was assembled with women, children and old people, brought from other regions, who were to represent the victims of the chemical incident, " Gerasimov said, according to RIA.
But far more ominously, Gerasimov said Russia would respond to a U.S. strike on Syria if the lives of Russian servicemen were threatened, targeting any missiles and launchers involved: "In case there is a threat to the lives of our military, the Russian Armed Force will take retaliatory measures both over the missiles and carriers that will use them," the Russian General said.
Meanwhile, the Syrian proxy civil war, in which the U.S. and other allies have supported "moderate" rebel groups to topple the Assad regime under the pretext of fighting ISIS, goes on: the war is also seen as a battle for influence between Russia and the West in the Middle East. As ISIS' influence has waned and rebel-held locations reclaimed, Assad has regained the upper hand in Syria, and so has Russia.
This is why the US has been increasingly eager to provoke Russia.
Still, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that establishing more deescalation zones in Syria was not a priority for now, Reuters reported. He told reporters that it was important to prevent violation of ceasefire agreements in eastern Ghouta, a situation which he planned to discuss with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu who is on a visit to Moscow.
Finally, if the US does indeed pursue military action against Syria using the worn out "chemical attack" false flag, and if Russia does indeed retaliate against US warships in the region, remember to go all in stocks, because nothing is quite as bullish - to Keynesians - as World War III.
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