Interview with Dmitry Suslov
Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, gave a deeper insight in the political standoff between Russia and Britain.
Russia Today: Moscow has said the official reaction will be adequate to Britain's actions, but we haven't heard of any steps taken so far. What are your expectations? What action may Moscow take?
A.S.: I don't expect any harsh reaction from Moscow, and you know quite well that Moscow's reaction has been quite calm and with no signs of any hysteria from the very beginning. It's quite logical, by the way, because if Moscow overreacts, it will hamper its relations with the European Union and actually fulfil the British expectations, because the British deliberately try to provoke Moscow and make it look like a threat – to behave like a mad bear – in the eyes of international society and the European Union. Also Moscow doesn't want to spoil the economic relations with the United Kingdom, which are quite important for both sides. So I think Moscow's reaction will be just adequate. Moscow might send four British diplomats out of the British Embassy and maybe change some visa regulations for the British brokers – and that's all. Moscow will not overreact.
RT: How do you think the standoff may affect relations between Russia and the EU?
A.S.: Of course the stand-off is not a positive factor for Russia-EU relations. Other EU member states had to express solidarity with Britain because they are allies. However, I do not expect in the middle-term and short-term future any crucial negative turns in Russia-EU relations.
Actually, this is exactly what the British wanted. They wanted to create some kind of resonance in Russian-Western relations adding the scandal to a whole series of issues such as Kosovo, ABM deployment, the probable deployment of Russia's Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad region, a moratorium on the CFE treaty and so on, and thus bring the European Union away from Russia and make it closer to the United States. Britain wants to re-unify the Atlantics on an anti-Russian basis thus becoming more influential. This is traditional British policy: the closer the European Union is to the United States, the more influential Britain is. Nowadays it's quite possible, and Britain utilises the atmosphere. However France, Germany and other continental European countries do not want that. And so far they are the ones who make politics in European Union. So if Russia doesn't overreact, I don't expect any crucial changes in Russian-European relations.
RT: What do you think about Mr Berezovsky’s statement about the attempt of assassinating him? If this is true, how come Scotland Yard hasn't commented on any of this?
A.S.: Mr Berezovsky is famous for making some claims which sometimes – most often – do not have much to do with reality. I think the silence of Scotland Yard is proof of the fact that this case is just that. I think Mr Berezovsky has made this claim to draw attention to him in order to prove to certain circles in the West that he is still an influential politician, that he is a serious factor in Russian-Western relations. May be he has some sponsors, some patrons who want the deterioration these relations. So most probably he just wants to remain on the surface.
