West-Russia Relations 'Combative' But UK Embassy Engaging With Russian Gov't - Ambassador

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2021) The relationship between Russian and Western countries is fraught with tensions and "combative," but that does not stop the UK Embassy from engaging with the Russian government and people, Deborah Bronnert, the UK ambassador to Russia, said Thursday.

"We continue to have a really complicated and difficult bilateral relationship, also the wider relationship between Russia and Western countries more generally is extremely tense and combative ... That is certainly a significant factor and a significant backdrop for our work, although it is not stopping us continuing to engage and work with the Russian state and the Russian government, as well as with people across Russia," Bronnert said during an event hosted by the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has recently described the relationship with the European Union, in particular, as "torn to shreds."