Australian Outlook

Issues Brief

23 Jul 2014
Colin Chapman

Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, has been accused of double standards with his arguments that further sanctions should be imposed on Russia because of its actions in Ukraine. The row stems from Cameron’s call to France to scrap the sale of two Mistral class warships to Russia. The Financial Times reports that the head of France’s ruling Socialist party called the British prime minister a hypocrite when London welcomed so many Russian oligarchs friendly to the Kremlin.

One name that has been mentioned is Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea football club, who is based in England. Abramovich is one of Putin’s closest associates, the FT reports.

The paper’s chief foreign columnist, Gideon Rachman, has harsh words to say about Putin, in an article headed “Kremlin’s Machiavelli has led Russia to disaster“, and lists what he says have been the Russian leaders five failed policies.

Another British newspaper, The Independent, owned by a London-based Russian, also accuses Britain of hypocrisy, revealing that government officials have recently approved a massive increase in arms sales to Russia. The Independent also sent a reporter to the square in a town in separatist-dominated eastern Ukraine where Kiev officials and US intelligence claim to have pictures of a Russian rocket launcher parked in the square. In 90 minutes the reporter could find no one who could testify to having seen the vehicle.

Across the Atlantic, however, the Obama administration released satellite images and other evidence that it claimed proved the role of Russia in the downing of the Malaysian aircraft, killing all 298 passengers and crew, including 29 Australians. The Washington Post has the most detailed report.

Senior U.S. intelligence officials cited sensors that traced the path of the missile, shrapnel markings on the downed aircraft, voiceprint analysis of separatists claiming credit for the strike and a flood of photos and other data from social-media sites.

The officials also for the first time identified a sprawling Russian military installation near the city of Rostov as the main conduit of Russian support to separatists in Ukraine, describing it as a hub of training and weapons that has expanded dramatically over the past month. The officials said that tanks, rocket launchers and other arms have continued to flow into Ukraine even after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.