By Owei Lakemfa

Serious diplomacy has this Easter Season, given way to the farcical drama of European countries expelling diplomats of their Russian brothers with the later retaliating. This week, 25 countries including non-European allies like the United States, Australia and Canada, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) had knocked out 158 Russian diplomats  with Russia absorbing the punches and throwing its own. There is the joke that American  President, Donald Trump was watching the CBS 60 Minutes programme when he was asked how many Russian diplomats should  be expelled, he looked at the screen, saw 60 Minutes and decided that 60 Russians should be expelled.

In descending  into Cold War politics, no shots have been fired, and may not be; it is actually more of shadow boxing. The ostensible reason for this street  musical   is the tragic attempted murder of  Russian double spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia who were on March 4,  found unconscious in Salisbury, Britain. Skripal was a Russian intelligence agent found guilty of "high treason in the form of espionage" and imprisoned in 2006 before being exchanged in 2010 for some Russians accused of spying in the US.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said the poison used was a  “military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia” and concluded that Russia was “highly likely” to have made the attempt.  Also, the attack bore resemblance to the murder of Alexander Litvinenko,  a former KGB agent who fled prosecution and took asylum in Britain. On  November 1, 2006,  he  fell ill and passed away twenty days later. The autopsy showed he had ingested poison; polonium-2010 and  the Russians were accused of administering it.

The Russians denied being behind the Salisbury attack and asked  the British for evidence beyond mere suspicion. An angry Britain responded by expelling 23 Russian diplomats, the latter  retaliated  expelling an equal number of British diplomats and shutting down the British Council.
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https://atlanticpostng.com/perspective-the-european-game-of-expulsions/