UK Labour as bad as Tories, Russian ambassador says

The new British government’s relations with Moscow remain at a “crisis” level, Andrey Kelin has claimed

The new Labour government in the UK is not ready for a meaningful dialogue with Moscow and is replicating the previous, Conservative government’s anti-Russia rhetoric, according to Russia’s ambassador to Britain, Andrey Kelin.

In an interview with RIA Novosti on Thursday, Kelin pointed out that interaction between Russia and the UK is very limited at the moment.

“Against the backdrop of the crisis in bilateral relations provoked by the British government, our interaction with the UK authorities is mainly limited to contacts with the Foreign Office. This was the case under the Conservatives, and it continues under the Labour Party,” the envoy stated.

He noted that such contacts are rare and are only occasionally of a political nature. For the most part, they concern the activities of the diplomatic and consular missions of Russia and Britain regarding the current global agenda, the envoy explained.

He also pointed out that those British politicians who have called for a dialogue with Russia have been subject to strong criticism by the UK government.

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“We know the British who express sound ideas, but there are few of them here. And, in the context of the anti-Russian consensus that persists in the local establishment, it is difficult for them to convey and defend their point of view...” 

“Those who dare to speak from such positions are subjected to devastating criticism, denigrated in the media, and there have been attempts to compromise them,” Kelin said.

The British Labour Party defeated the Conservatives in a historic parliamentary election in July for control of the nation’s government. The Tories have suffered their worst-ever election defeat, while the Labour’s landslide brought a new party to power for the first time in 14 years.

The ambassador had said in early June that he expected accusations of Moscow-linked election interference, adding that the change of government in the UK was unlikely to alter London’s policy towards Russia.