UK FM Boris Johnson to warn Russia over ‘destabilizing’ Europe

Johnson arrived in Moscow on Friday hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during what is the first visit to Russia by a UK foreign minister in five years.

“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 Thursday released by his office before the talks.

“However, it is vital for international security that we do talk to each other – as the consequences of miscommunication or misunderstanding are grave. My visit to Russia comes at a critical time as we need to work together to solve the world’s most pressing global challenges,” the statement added.
The visit by UK’s top diplomat comes at a time when relations between Britain and Russia are strained by differences over Ukraine and Syria as well as by allegations, which Russia completely rejects, of it meddling in the politics of US and European countries.

Johnson said he also wanted to discuss working together to preserve the international nuclear agreement with Iran and the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that it was London’s decision to scale back British-Russian dialogue, which she called groundless and untimely.

Zakharova has sharply criticized Johnson in the past, calling him unprofessional and organizing an online cartoon competition that mocked him, while she has strongly disputed some of his assertions about the conflict in Syria.

In the US, American President Donald Trump has repeatedly denied allegations that his election campaign colluded with Russia.

US intelligence agencies claim that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to try to help Trump defeat then Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton.