Russian FM: Britain plays "most negative" role in Ukraine conflict

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Britain of playing the “most negative” role in the conflict in Ukraine, citing what he described as a long history of hostile British policy towards Russia.

Speaking in an interview with RBC television, Lavrov was asked to comment on London’s role in the conflict, including frequent visits by British politicians to Kyiv.

“Britain’s role is the most negative, as it has been for many centuries. Towards Russia, certainly,” Lavrov said.

He argued that Britain had also taken a negative approach towards most of its other “fellow travellers”, saying the country had never had permanent allies.

“The United States is no exception. They have always looked somewhat down on those Anglo-Saxons who created themselves a state across the Atlantic,” Lavrov said.

Expanding on his historical argument, Lavrov said British policy towards Russia had been hostile since the reign of Ivan the Terrible.

“Since the time of Ivan the Terrible — as accounts from contemporaries attest — the British have consistently sought to do various things to harm our country,” he said.

Lavrov cited the Crimean War and events surrounding the Russian Revolution as examples. He claimed that British diplomats had actively encouraged the State Duma during the revolution and criticised Britain's King George V for refusing Nicholas II’s request for asylum.

“George V refused to comply with Nicholas II’s direct request to provide him with asylum. This was in the spring of 1917. We all know what happened next,” Lavrov said.

He also acknowledged Britain’s role as an ally of the Soviet Union during the Second World War, highlighting Western assistance to Moscow.

“Yes, there was the period of the Second World War. Indeed, our allies were both the United States and Britain. Lend-Lease and the Arctic convoys were a great help,” Lavrov said.

He added that some historians considered the assistance crucial to the Soviet Union’s ability to withstand the first year of the war before the Battle of Moscow.

Lavrov then argued that Britain and the United States adopted a more cautious diplomatic approach as the war progressed.

“Then a diplomatic game of manoeuvring began: the second front, and so on. It gave the impression that they were watching how the situation on the front would develop and which way it would turn. They were thinking about which side to choose,” he said.

By Aghakazim Guliyev