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Johnson Heads to Russia: Europe’s Stability on Top

Johnson Heads to Russia: Europe’s Stability on Top
folder_openUnited Kingdom access_time6 years ago
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Local Editor

Hours before landing in Moscow, it was revealed that British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson will tell his Russian counterpart on Friday that there can be no "business as usual" until Moscow stops "destabilizing" Europe and that Britain is ready to retaliate against any cyber-attacks.

Johnson Heads to Russia: Europe’s Stability on Top

Johnson is due to hold talks in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during what is the first visit to Russia by a British foreign minister in five years. He is also expected to meet Kremlin critics, students and activists.

"Our relations with Russia cannot be ‘business as usual' whilst Russia continues to attempt to destabilize European states, including Ukraine," Johnson said in a statement released by his office before the talks.

While traveling to Moscow on Thursday, Johnson told reporters that Britain disapproved of many things that Russia had done. He singled out its 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, what he called Moscow's destabilizing of the western Balkans, and its cyber activities.

"As you would expect the UK has its own [cyber] capabilities and we are ready of course to defend our interests," he said.

But Johnson also stressed his desire for London and Moscow to cooperate where they have common interests, saying it was vital for international security that the two countries talk to each other because not doing so risked potentially dangerous misunderstandings.

Johnson says he wants to discuss working with Moscow to preserve the Iran nuclear deal and the threat posed by North Korea, as well as security arrangements for next year's soccer World Cup which will be held in Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that the decision to scale back British-Russian dialogue had been London's however, and had been groundless and untimely.

Johnson riled Russian officials before his visit by likening Russia to the ancient Greek city state of Sparta in an interview with Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, saying Moscow was "closed, nasty, militaristic and anti-democratic - like Sparta."

Zakharova has previously called Johnson unprofessional, organized an online cartoon competition that mocked him, and strongly disputed his assertions about Syria.

When asked before his trip what she made of Johnson's statements criticizing Moscow, Zakharova said they had caused only laughter in Russia and were not worth getting upset about because they had come from Boris Johnson.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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