London Shoots Itself in the Foot With Anti-Russian Measures: Entire Country Runs on Oligarch Money
While the European Union is still preparing for a trade war with America, Britain saw a domestic front open. They are looking for internal enemies. Take a wild guess who they are. Right, the Russians!
Our correspondent Alexander Khabarov is reporting from London.
The anti-Russian hysteria, which arose after the Salisbury poisoning, has backfired on Britain. The country lost investments worth a billion pounds, the sum needed to reconstruct Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium. Roman Abramovich, the owner of the FC, was supposed to be the investor. But he changed his mind after he faced problems getting a British visa. In May, Abramovich couldn't attend the final match of the FA Cup, won by his FC. No official explanation was provided for the visa denial. But after the Salisbury case, the British government has repeatedly promised to intensify the verification procedures regarding wealthy Russians coming to Britain. Not surprisingly, that the owner of Chelsea refused to make additional investments in such a case.
"Chelsea Football Club announces that it has put its new stadium project on hold. No further planning work will occur. The club does not have a time frame set for reconsideration of its decision. The decision was made due to the current unfavorable investment climate".
By this decision, Abramovich hit a very precise goal. He's backed by millions of Chelsea fans who do not understand why the government needed this scandal, so unprofitable for the UK.
Arni, Chelsea FC fan: "We don't know why this decision is being made by the government. I'm sure that all Chelsea fans are disappointed. He was going to build a new long-awaited stadium, but now it's on hold. They should apologize and let him do everything he planned to".
Ryan Weston, Chelsea fan: "As a Chelsea fan, I can tell you that Abramovich, arriving in our country, created a lot of jobs. The Chelsea FC won way over one trophy, while the government received huge tax payments from all of his businesses. As a British, I can tell you that it's far more serious. If we forbid our country for Russians, then what will we become? I mean that unfortunately, Salaphites, Wahhabis come here but we don't communicate with our neighbors, our Russian brothers. We turned them into enemies, while Russia is no enemy to us".
The British newspapers write that Abramovich has already withdrawn his application for the extension of the British visa. He is free to come here on an Israeli passport, but he does not have the right to work here. That is, for Great Britain, he is no longer an investor, but a tourist. The Times considers this news alarming.
"Abramovich's decision to suspend the investment in a new stadium can hold far-reaching consequences not only for football if other Russian tycoons follow suit".
London's real estate agents are seriously concerned. Rich Russians were welcome customers here and bought expensive real estate.
Gary Hersham, property specialist: "If such a matter could happen to a man who has invested huge amounts of money into the UK, raised the value of the Chelsea FC from 120 million to 2-3 billion pounds and at the same time behaved absolutely correctly, hat then can happen here with the rest? They came here because they were as safe here as in paradise. Families, assets, real estate — they have no reason for concern. But now there have been several issues, visa problems, besides, the British can at any moment demand to explain the origin of the money".
Before the scandal with Abramovich's visa, many believed that British politicians' threats were nothing but populism, and they wouldn't abandon those who invest money here. But after the Salisbury case, you can forget about the rules. The British government accused Russia of poisoning the Skripals without giving any evidence. It was on that basis that Russian diplomats were expelled. The investigation is classified. No results are provided. A week ago the police cordon was removed from the center of Salisbury, where the Skripals had been found on March, 4 as if nothing had happened. Now, a lawn has replaced the ill-fated bench. Three months have passed, but it is still unclear what actually happened here. The only thing reminding of the Skripals is the restaurant, which is still closed, where they had lunch on the day of the poisoning. However, the official version has it that the greatest concentration of poison was found on the door handle of the former double agent's home.
The police cordons, which used to be several hundred meters from here, have been moved closer to Sergey Skripal's house. The location of the ex-colonel is unknown. British special services are hiding him. Even the doctors who treated the Skripals cannot explain their miraculous healing. The Salisbury hospital staff was interviewed by BBC. According to them, when the former colonel and his daughter were admitted to the hospital, the doctors thought it was an opium overdose and used therapies typical for it. They realized they were dealing with a military poisonous substance over 24 hours later. Experts on chemical weapons claim that symptoms typical of opioid overdose and organophosphate poisoning are so different that any confusion is impossible.
Leonid Rink, Doctor of Science in Chemistry: "In case of an opioid overdose, a patient's pupils are dilated and the muscles are relaxed. Whereas in case of organophosphate poisoning, we're talking about exposure to a substance that has a cramping, or neuroparalytic, effect. In that situation all the muscles get tense. So the muscles are either relaxed or tense. And pupils are either dilated or not. It shouldn't take a medical professional more than one second to identify those symptoms".
The hospital doesn't reveal the drugs used for treatment. But, judging from the interview, doctors were guided by some foreign specialists who were then next to Salisbury, in Porton Down, the secret chemical laboratory of the British Ministry of Defense.
Dr. Duncan Murray, head of the intensive care department: "I believe the improvement was largely attributable to the input from highly qualified international experts, who happen to be on our doorstep at Porton Down".
The so-called Russian involvement in the Skripal case can only be seen through the lens of the British politicians' statement.
Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia: "If someone's trying to play along with the people overseas who are heightening tensions, it's very unfortunate and there's nothing really we can do about it, other than continue to effectively defend our interests, the truth, and the justice".
Having unleashed an anti-Russian campaign, London may be counting on some secret dividends, but so far only losses are visible; at least, the billion that Roman Abramovich did not invest in a new stadium. The money was gone because of the unfavorable investment climate created by British politicians.
Alexander Khabarov, Ilya Mordyukov for Vesti — News of the Week from London.