An article published October 18 on the blog of the renowned Telegram channel SerpomPo compared the Skripal and Khashoggi affairs. The article stated that Russia could have enjoyed Western support had it not decided to meddle in the West's affairs and attempt to assassinate former Russian double agent Sergey Skripal in the UK. It stressed that the West would have accepted an authoritarian regime in Russia just as it does in Saudi Arabia, as long as such a regime did not cross the borders of Russia and its orbit – but that Moscow had chosen to play by its own rules and operate in the West. Now, it added, with its murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, Saudi Arabia has shown that it too is carrying out operations outside its borders, and both Russia and Saudi Arabia will pay the price for doing so with sanctions. Just as Russia was not saved by Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas, it concluded, neither will Saudi Arabia be saved by the West's dependence on its oil.
Sergey Skripal, Jamal Khashoggi.
Turkey's Daily Sabah shows 15 Saudi operatives suspected of murdering Khashoggi; "Alexander Petrov" and "Ruslan Boshirov" are accused by the British government of involvement in Skripal's poisoning (Source: Rt.com)
Below are excerpts of the article by SerpomPo:[1]
The West Used To Treat Russia Like It Treated Saudi Arabia
"Here's a new lesson for the Russian authorities.
"They have always been indignant about 'the hypocrisy of the West.'
"They said: 'Why are you always talking about 'human rights in Russia' and restricting your interactions with us? Look at Saudi Arabia and their regime! After all, you there in the West have opened all your doors to them. We want the same: inside Russia, an authoritarian regime and the enrichment of the bigwigs at the expense of the serfs – and in the West, give our rulers, who are rolling in money, and their cello-playing friends the same treatment you give the Saudis. Why the double standard?'
"But this is exactly the way it used to be with Putin in the West. Exactly like with the Saudis. And his friends, who became billionaires during his time as president, felt quite comfortable in the West. And Putin himself was awarded medals; they hung on his every word, shook his hand, gave him money, had business in Russia... But this was before Putin crossed a red line in foreign affairs, before he barged into a neighboring country as a conqueror, the way [Iraqi president Saddam] Hussein did with Kuwait. Then he added cyber-attacks, assassination attempts in Great Britain, interference in the American elections and other heroic feats of our intelligence service.
"And that was the end of it. That's when Russia became 'not like the Saudis' for the West.
"Because whatever you do at home is your own problem – yours and your people's; but don't you come to our territory with your 'Novichoks,' hackers, and retaliations. We have our own rules in the West. If you don't play by them – good-bye."
Now Both Russia And Saudi Arabia "Think It Is Heroic To Go To A Foreign Country To Kill 'Scumbags' And 'Traitors'"
"And now, the Russian authorities have a stupid copy-cat — Saudi Arabia, which, apparently, gruesomely murdered a journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in Turkey with impudence way exceeding that of the Salisbury tourists.
"Look at the sharp response in the West: If everything is confirmed, Saudi Arabia will be subject to sanctions – possibly lighter than those against Russia – but it will not go unpunished. And no oil, weapon purchases from the U.S., or integration of their economy into the Western world will save them. As Putin was not saved by Europe's dependence on the Russian gas – he miscalculated. The Western countries are expressing their indignation about the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And who do you think is silent?
"You are not wrong – it is the easy-going Russian diplomacy, the highly spiritual Russian authorities.
"Their beetle-browed concentration is easily explained. It is silent approval.
"They are just like the Saudis. They, too, think it is heroic to go to a foreign country to kill 'scumbags' and 'traitors.'"[2]
[1]Echo.msk.ru/blog/serpompo2018, October 18, 2018.
[2] A reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin's statements at the Russian Energy Week plenary, in which he called Russian double agent Sergei Skripal a "scumbag" and a "traitor to the motherland." Youtube.com/watch?time_continue=35&v=4R4uJYGYY, Radio Sputnik, October 3, 2018.
