EMBASSY INFORMS
On 19 June 2018 Ambassador Dr Alexander Yakovenko awarded the British theatre director Declan Donnellan with the Russian Order of Friendship for his contribution to bilateral cultural relations. Question: Has there been a response from the British authorities with regard to the information sent to the Embassy by Russian citizens experiencing biased approach from the UK Border Force officials upon arrival in the UK?
Answer: In response to the Embassy’s requests to the British Side to put an end to the practice of excessive and inappropriate security measures against Russian citizens (including minors) at the border in the points of entry to the UK, the UK Home Office
has issued a formal reply. A letter printed on the Home Office form addressed to the Embassy consists of three sentences, does not contain any signature and is in essence a runaround reply reduced to “routine checks”. This demonstrates the lack of responsibility and ignorance towards serious concerns of the Russian Side and ordinary citizens travelling to the UK. Question: Are there any changes in the UK position on cooperation with the Russian Federation on the investigation of the murder of Nikolay Glushkov and the attempt on the lives of the Skripals? What is the current status of the requests by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia received by the UK Home Office?
Answer: The British Side continues to keep deafening silence and has not provided answers neither to the Prosecutor General’s Office, nor the Embassy on the status of the official requests for legal assistance on the criminal cases initiated in Russia after the murder and the attempt of murder of Russian citizens on the British soil.
Clearly, the UK is showing zero interest in cooperating on the investigation of these high-profile cases. These actions undermine law enforcement and other legal procedures aimed at establishing the truth and justice. Q: What is your reaction to the article by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in the “Sun” newspaper, where he claims UK chose not to boycott World Cup in order not to be unfair towards players and sport fans, because they “have a dispute solely with the Government of Russia”?
A: We took note of the abovementioned article. We agree that politics should not intervene in affairs of international sport. And Mr Foreign Secretary is right claiming that British fans in Russia have no reasons to feel threatened. Russian authorities, in cooperation with foreign partners, took every precaution to ensure maximum comfort and security for all World Cup guests. We are happy to have over 600 000 guests from practically every country in the world, including 10 000 British fans. On June 15, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov met with British Ambassador to Russia Laurence Bristow at the latter’s request. Friends, I welcome all guests to the legendary Moscow stadium Luzhniki, everyone gathered in the numerous fan zones of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and those watching us on television or online. I congratulate you – the entire large, multinational, tightly-knit international football family – on the start of the top tournament on the planet! Ladies and gentlemen, In today's diverse and multicultural world the importance of language training has become more and more significant. This has a special importance for children from diasporas, including the Russian speaking diaspora in Britain. While living in the English language environment, even kids from families, where Russian is spoken at home, lose language skills without learning Russian at school. This is why we commend supplementary Russian schools, like Znaniye. Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, friends, I am delighted to welcome all of you today on the occasion of Russia’s National Day. This year has been very important for us. We have had Presidential elections in Russia. A new Government has been formed. We have identified our new goals – to effectively use the global economy growth factors, to achieve breakthroughs in the economy, social welfare, research and education, to significantly improve the quality of life. President Putin has plans to speed up Russian economy higher than average world growth and to make it the fifth largest economy in the world. These are our national priorities. Q: What is your reaction to the G7 Communiqué, where Russia is again accused of having poisoned Sergei and Yulia Skripal?
A: Just as in the case of the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting in April, we have again witnessed unfounded allegations against Russia, not supported by any evidence.
The British authorities continue to rely on allies’ “solidarity” while offering their partners nothing but assertions that there is “no other plausible explanation” of the incident except that Russia is responsible. Q: Today marks three months since the death of Nikolay Glushkov. How would you comment on the course of the investigation by the British authorities of this case?
A: We have to note that the British authorities are still refusing us cooperation on the investigation of the death on the British soil of ex-Deputy Director General of “Aeroflot” Nikolay Glushkov that occurred on 12 March. On June 1, 2018 the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Belarus on certain issues related to the entry of foreign citizens and stateless persons to international sports competitions came into force. The document in particular regulates the entry procedure for certain categories of foreign citizens into the territory of the Union State during the preparations and hosting of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The Agreement provides for visa-free entry into the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus for the holders of spectator identity cards (fan passports or FAN IDs) or information about them provided they have an authentic ID. The said citizens can also cross the Russia-Belarus border if they travel via the following motor roads: M-1, P-23, A-240 and following railway routes Vitebsk-Pskov, Minsk-Smolensk, Gomel-Bryansk. Question: How would you comment on the new bill introduced by the British government to give police new powers to investigate all forms of “hostile state activity” and to stop, question, search and detain individuals at the UK border to determine whether they appear to be a person who is, or has been, engaged in hostile activity?
Answer: We do not have the opportunity to review and assess the whole text of the bill. Meanwhile, it is unclear from publicly available information, how these new sweeping powers of British law enforcement, border and customs agencies will be applied in practice. In regard to whom and how will they be used? Who and how will examine the level of “hostility” of foreign States’ activities? Q.: How would you comment on the contents of the report by the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee expressing concerns over safety and security of British fans at the 2018 World Cup in Russia?
A.: Unfortunately, this report is another attempt to fuel anti-Russian sentiments on the eve of the World Cup despite the fact that the British police and the FCO have given positive assessments of their cooperation with Russia’s law enforcement authorities on safety and security issues at the World Cup. On 7 June the prominent Russian literature scholar Artem Novichenkov gave a lecture at the Ambassador’s Residence on the topic “Dystopia: challenge of the present or fear for the future” On 6 June, Russian Language Day, celebrated on the birthday of Alexander Pushkin, Russian Ambassador to the UK Dr Alexander Yakovenko met the distinguished scholar of Russian Professor Anthony Briggs.
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