UK Ambassador To Russia Hopes For More Bilateral Contacts In 2021, Warns Of Disagreements

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2020) The United Kingdom's ambassador to Russia, Deborah Bronnert, has said on Wednesday that she hopes the Russian and UK governments will be able to manage the COVID-19 pandemic to allow for a greater number of bilateral contacts throughout 2021, despite the likelihood of "deep and profound" disagreements continuing to impact relations between London and Moscow.

"We will continue to have, I think, very deep and profound disagreements about a range of issues. From a UK perspective, we will have to continue to focus on the security of our country and our nationals, and that is going to lead to areas of disagreement," Bronnert said at a webinar organized by the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce when asked for her opinion on the future course of UK-Russia relations.

The ambassador made reference to Foreign Office minister Wendy Morton's visit to Russia earlier in November; the first visit by a UK government minister to Russia since 2017. Bronnert said that such visits showed the ability of officials in London and Moscow to maintain dialogue.

"We're not quite at the end of 2020, but it was a positive coming towards the end of 2020 in terms of the ability of the British and Russian governments to talk to one another despite all the issues," the ambassador said.

Despite the pessimistic outlook, Bronnert expressed hope that UK and Russian officials would be able to hold a greater number of face-to-face meetings in 2021, as the international community is likely to manage the spread of the coronavirus disease with the rollout of vaccines.

"Even if I suspect, the virus won't disappear, I hope we will be able to manage in a way that enables us to start talking directly much more frequently in 2021," the ambassador remarked.

Morton conducted a two-day visit to Moscow on November 16-17. During her working visit, Morton held talks with Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov and presidential adviser on climate change Ruslan Edelgeriev for a series of discussions on climate, human rights, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent economic recovery.