MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. Britain is the leader of the Western world in prolonging the Ukrainian conflict; London is not interested in normalizing relations with Russia, the director of the North Atlantic Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Gusarov, said in an interview with the International Affairs Journal.
"The facts are stubborn, and they speak directly to the opposite, that it is London today that is one of the leaders of the Western collective advocating the escalation and prolongation of the Ukrainian conflict," Gusarov said. "All this convinces us that London at this stage is not interested in normalizing relations. This does not mean that we are forgetting important memorable pages of our history, including the history of the military alliance of our countries in countering fascism and Nazism. We remember the Arctic convoys, but for us the national security of our country is absolutely imperative, and we will never allow any threats to come from Britain or any other country."
Gusarov sees no reason to believe that with the formation of a new government in London there will be at least some progress for the better in bilateral relations.
"This would require London’s decisive break with the foreign policy guidelines that they, London, have been nurturing over the past years," he noted. "In the meantime, there is only one goal, this is inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia, and by someone else, in this case, by Ukrainian hands. London has been working towards this goal for a long time, generating anti-Russian provocations, replicating anti-Russian sanctions, expelling our diplomats, encouraging this, the implementation of the same similar goals of their European allies. At the same time, as we see, the degradation of the socio-economic situation in Britain itself, as well as the consequences of this disastrous line for the level of tension throughout Europe, is not taken into account."
"In this regard, we are forced to be extremely skeptical about the narratives that are periodically voiced by representatives of the British establishment, and, in particular, the Foreign Office, regarding the alleged absence of hostile plans towards Russia," Gusarov said.