The Russian Embassy’s Submission On The State Of The Russo-British Relashionship (Brief résumé)
- Our bilateral relationship is held, in fact, hostage to the vicissitudes of Ukrainian domestic politics. Besides, the way HMG decided to dispose of the ‘Litvinenko case’ puts even the limited progress of the past 6 months at risk.
- The British Side froze all the mechanisms of our bilateral political dialogue and Inter-Governmental Cooperation in March 2014 in response to our differences over the Ukrainian crisis. - The methods of integration of Ukraine with the EU (lack of transparency and open debate, including on the consequences of the DCFTA, unwillingness to coordinate with Russia) led to destabilisation of Ukraine and a unilateral response to a unilateral action. ‘Expansionism on the cheap’. Fatal link with Nato membership. - Outside the ‘Normandy Four’ and with no stake in the political solution, Britain became the most vociferous critic of Russia and supporter of Kiev’s flawed strategy of military solution. - Our differences over the problems of the Middle East and North Africa are due, in our view, to Britain’s trust in reordering the region through regime change (Iraq, Egypt, Libya and Syria) and encouragement of ‘democratic revolutions’, rather than evolution and developmental transformation of those societies. - The trade and economic ties are in decline partly due to the Western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine and the overall climate of the political relationship. - The trade and cooperation in agriculture wiped out by Russia’s retaliatory measures. - The cultural ties are a bright page, as always, in bad times, key to maintaining people-to-people contacts and mutual trust between the Russians and the British. - Suspension of the Coroner’s inquest and the decision in July 2015 to hold a semi-secret public inquiry instead was a strategic blunder. The case can only be closed through an open court of law and due process with all the evidence subject to adversary scrutiny. The January report a ‘whitewash’ of the British special services unwilling to come clean on their work against Russia ever since we fell out over the War in Iraq. - The way visas are issued to personel of our official missions in Britain is a major irritant in our relationship, especially against the background of the bilateral agenda dominated by minor technical issues. Toughening of the respective British practice in late 2015 in contravention of Britain’s international obligations. Huge potential for further deterioration. - The bigger picture, i.e. the state of the Russia – the West relations, dominated by the decisions made by the West immediately after the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union. The ‘victory in the Cold War’ euphoria and ‘end of history’ mentality led to expansion of Nato towards Russia’s border. The lack of formal settlement after the Cold War end prevented establishment of a genuine region-wide system of collective security ensuring its indivisibility in the Euro-Atlantic. - Now all of us paying the price. Restoration of Europe’s political unity key to our competitiveness in the radically transformed global environment. History forgotten and Russia’s domestic development distorted by the Western policies.
Question: Mr Vershinin, following the UN General Assembly session, it was stated that, in the wake of the visa scandal, several UN General Assembly committees could be transferred from New York to another country. Do you think it is possible?
Sergey Vershinin: I think this is feasible, but the decision should be taken by the General Assembly. This is not the first time the United States has violated its obligations under the UN Charter and the agreement on the location of the organisation’s central bodies in the United States. As you may be aware, this is not just a question of this year or today. We have been raising this issue for many years, specifically, since 2004, in the special UN Committee on Relations with the Host Country, because there were similar incidents then, too.
On 25 September, the Metropolitan Police published new data on blood tests taken in March 2018 from individuals that might have been affected by a nerve agent in Salisbury. The samples did not reveal any traces of exposure.
Leaving aside the question of why the tests have been carried out only now, let us point out that the absence of traces of “Novichok” does not help to support the official British version of the incident.
But there is another aspect to the news.
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey as guarantors of the Astana format held a trilateral meeting on the margins of the 74th meeting of UN General Assembly.
The Ministers:
1. Reaffirmed the strong commitment of the Astana guarantors to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and emphasized that these principles should be respected by all sides.
These days, the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly opens up. So does a new international “political season”.
The session begins at a highly symbolic historical moment. Next year we will celebrate two great and interconnected anniversaries – the 75th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic and Second World Wars, and the establishment of the UN.
Question: How would you comment on the plans by Charlie Rowley, a victim of the Amesbury poisonings, to initiate judicial proceedings against the Russian authorities? Answer: As far as we understand, these plans are at a very preliminary stage. A lawsuit specifically against the Russian Government is but one of the options considered by Mr Rowley’s lawyers. For our part, we fully share Charlie’s desire to establish truth regarding his poisoning that also resulted in the death of his partner Dawn Sturgess. Mr Rowley is seeking clarity over the “unanswered questions”, which is, incidentally or not, the title of the Embassy’s own report with questions to the British authorities.
According to media reports, a large-scale drone attack was launched in the early hours of September 14 against oil refineries of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company Saudi Aramco near the cities of Abqaiq and Khurais in the eastern part of the Kingdom. The Houthi Ansar Allah movement, now fighting against forces loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and the Arabian Coalition supporting him in Yemen, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran H.E. Hassan Rouhani, President of the Russian Federation H.E. Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Turkey H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gathered in Ankara on 16 September 2019 for a Tripartite Summit.
Moscow has taken note of the Arab countries’ highly negative reaction to the statement made by Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu regarding his intention to extend Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley.
We share concerns over these Israeli plans, the implementation of which can lead to a dramatic escalation of tensions in the region and undermine hopes for a long awaited peace between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
12 September 2019 marks exactly one year and half since Russian national Nikolay Glushkov was murdered in London under mysterious circumstances. We regret to state that the British side has failed to provide any meaningful reply to our numerous enquiries. Since April 2018 the Home Office has been ignoring the official request of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation for legal assistance over Russia’s own criminal case into the death of Nikolay Glushkov. The British authorities have also been silent regarding the Embassy’s repeated proposals to arrange a meeting between the Russian Ambassador and the Met Police Commissioner or hold law-enforcement experts’ bilateral contacts.
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