Russian Ambassador: the royal family was advised not to communicate with the diplomatic mission

Members of the British royal family were advised not to get in touch with diplomats from Russia, informed Russian Ambassador to the country Andrei Kelin in a conversation with Izvestia.

“I know that members of the royal family are advised not to support or make contact with the Russian embassy,” he said, stressing that after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, there was no contact with the new monarch, Charles III.

The diplomat pointed to the low level of contacts between Moscow and London, which began to decline as early as 2018 after the poisoning of former GRU officer Sergei Skripal in Salisbury. After February 24, when Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine, contacts in all areas, including economic and humanitarian ones, were curtailed. Kelin noted that now only bilateral diplomatic relations are preserved, without which only the military would remain. According to him, the gap between London and Moscow is not of interest to either side now.

At the same time, there were periods of good relations between Russia and Great Britain. In particular, Kelin recalled that in 1994, Elizabeth II came to St. Petersburg and Moscow, and in 2000 and 2003, Russian President Vladimir Putin also came to the UK on a corresponding visit. “That is, everything was in our relationship. And even now it is impossible to say that everything is over – it’s time to put an end to it. I don’t believe in it,” he stressed.

Kelin also noted that the total number of British-trained military personnel has already reached about 9,000 people, they are already working on the territory of Ukraine. This indicates that London is increasingly drawn into the conflict.

After the start of the special operation, the UK introduced several packages of sanctions against Russia. In response, Moscow added this country, as well as the United States, Canada, EU countries, to the list of unfriendly states. At the end of October, the Russian government added this list includes all overseas territories of Great Britain, including Bermuda, the Falkland Islands, the Cayman Islands, Saint Helena, etc.