East vs West - High stakes

The current spat between the UK and Russia is like a game of poker. At first sight, Britain appears to be playing a strong hand, convincing its allies — Ireland included — that the Russian government is behind the attempted assassination of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

But Russia has raised the stakes by inviting the UK to join them in a joint investigation into the Salisbury incident. It did so at a meeting it summoned of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. That was a strong and clever move — if this was a game of Texas Holdem.