UK seeks better relations with Russia, Johnson
Moscow 22 Dec (ANA) - Boris Johnson has said the UK's relations with Russia are "not on a good footing" but he wants them to improve, after talks in Moscow. Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov accused the UK of making "insulting" statements ahead of the meeting. But he said he trusted Mr Johnson and they had agreed on the need to work together on UN Security Council. Mr Johnson is the first UK foreign secretary to visit Russia in five years. Mr Lavrov said it was no secret that Britain's relations with Russia were at a "low point". And he accused Britain of making a series of "aggressive and insulting" public statements ahead of their meeting, saying Russia had done nothing to justify being seen as an aggressor, in relation to its actions in Ukraine and Syria. "I cannot recall any of Russia's actions that would be aggressive in relation to the United Kingdom. We did not blame London for anything," said Mr Lavrov. "On the contrary, we have heard accusations, even insultingly formulated - that we support the criminal regime in Syria, that we are aggressors, that we are occupiers, we annex other territories. "And all this despite the fact that on all the regional issues in question, and on many others, all information about what our position is, what it is based on, is regularly provided." The pair also clashed over Russia's alleged attempts to interfere in elections in the West, following UK Prime Minister Theresa May's warnings about the risks of Russia's "sustained campaign of cyber-espionage and disruption". Ahead of the meeting in Moscow, the UK government said Mr Johnson would warn Russia to stop cyber-attacks which threaten Britain's national security or face retaliation of a similar kind from the UK. But Mr Lavrov accused Mr Johnson of being a "hostage" of untrue Western narratives on the issue, insisting Russia had not meddled in elections in other countries.(ANA)
FA/ANA/22 December 2017----