Britain announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats having blamed the Kremlin for the attempted murder of a former Russian spy
On Wednesday, Britain announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats having blamed the Kremlin for the attempted murder of a former Russian spy. This marks the biggest expulsion of Russian diplomats from the country since 1985 — marking a return to the large-scale diplomatic ejections that took place during the Cold War.
The Russian Embassy based in the UK has since tweeted: “The temperature of Russia, UK relations drops to -23, but we are not afraid of cold weather.” Russia is also set to expel British diplomats from Moscow.
An expert from the University of Waterloo is available to share his views on these latest developments involving these two powerful nations.
Aaron Ettinger – Department of Political Science
Assistant Professor Aaron Ettinger specializes in international relations and US foreign policy in the Department of Political Science at Waterloo. His current research explores continuity and change in American foreign policy in the post-September 11 era.
“This marks a serious deterioration of relations between the UK and Russia. But it does not mean we’ve entered a new Cold War. Russia and Europe have deeply interconnected economies and the prospects of direct armed conflict are very small.
“This is what makes Britain’s response to the attempted assassination so difficult. Right now, it is limited to conventional diplomatic expulsions. But the UK has left room for more aggressive responses.”
— Aaron Ettinger
