The UK's new foreign minister, Jeremy Hunt, has called on the EU to increase sanctions on Russia. Moscow reacted swiftly, suggesting London was in no position to tell the EU what to do with Brexit only a few months away.
Image: Colourbox
Advertisement
British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt told an audience at the US Institute of Peace in Washington on Tuesday that Britain will push the EU to increase sanctions against Russia.
In his first major speech since taking over the position as the UK's chief diplomat, Hunt said the bloc should stand "shoulder to shoulder" with the US over the sanctions it imposed on Moscow this month.
Details of the speech
Hunt called on the EU to "truly stand shoulder to shoulder with the US."
"That means calling out and responding to transgressions with one voice whenever and wherever they occur, from the streets of Salisbury to the fate of Crimea," he said.
Hunt said Russian President Vladimir Putin had made the world "a more dangerous place."
Under Putin, Russia’s "aggressive and malign behaviour undermines the international order that keeps us safe," he went on.
"Those who do not share our values need to know that there will always be a serious price to pay if red lines are crossed — whether territorial incursions, the use of banned weapons or, increasingly, cyberattacks," Hunt said.
He cited "foreign attempts" to manipulate elections in Western democratic systems.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow is open to bilteral talks with the UKImage: Getty Images/AFP/J. Makovec
Moscow dismisses Hunt's claims
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov retorted: "Our British colleagues have quite a high opinion of themselves."
Speaking in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Lavrov added: "A country which is leaving the EU in the framework of Brexit is trying to dictate foreign policy to the EU itself. And now, as it turns out, London wants to dictate foreign policy on Russia in Washington."
Moscow had offered to sit down with Britain and discuss bilateral ties, Lavrov said, but had been rebuffed "in a high-handed way."
EU populists on Russia: Moving out of lockstep
The 2014 Ukraine crisis prompted EU states to close ranks with the US and impose sanctions on Russia. Most mainstream politicians remain wary of Moscow, leaving a political vacuum that EU populists are ready to fill.
Image: DW/S. Elkin
Strache wants to end sanctions
Austria's Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache has repeatedly called for EU sanctions against Russia to be lifted. Strache, who is also the leader of the populist FPÖ party, criticized NATO expansion to the east. "It wasn't Russia who was the aggressor in recent decades, who was trying to spread its zone of military influence towards the border of the European Union," he said in 2015.
Image: Reuters/H. Bader
Jean-Marie Le Pen, Russia, and the 'white world'
Far-right veteran Jean-Marie Le Pen got into trouble in 2015, when, in addition to saying gas chambers were a "detail" of history, he claimed that France should get along with Russia to save the "white world." These statements prompted his daughter Marine to push him ouf of the Front National party.
Image: Reuters/G. Fuentes
Marine Le Pen denies claims of Putin influence
French nationalist leader Marine Le Pen has described sanctions against Russia as "completely stupid." She also claimed Crimea "has always been Russian." Her party admits to taking loans from Russian banks, but Le Pen rejected claims of Moscow's influence as outrageous and harmful. The photo shows her meeting with Vladmir Putin in the Kremlin in 2017.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Klimentyev
AFD's Alice Weidel, Alexander Gauland, and Russia - it's complicated
Germany's anti-migrant AFD party is relatively popular among German voters with Russian background. Senior members of the party, including then-leader Frauke Petry, meet Putin's ruling party lawmakers in Moscow in 2017. The AFD also believes the EU sanctions are a "farce." However, party co-leader Alexander Gauland denies that the party supports Putin and "his authoritarian regime."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Deck
Viktor Orban and the special relationship with Putin
Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban often hosts Russia's Vladimir Putin in Budapest and the two leaders share many similarities in their ruling style. Orban has complained that politicians in Brussels must "demonize" Putin in order to be considered good Europeans. However, Hungary also joined the UK-led diplomatic offensive by expelling Russian diplomats over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal.
Image: Reuters/Laszlo Balogh
Geert Wilders under fire for visiting Moscow
Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders slammed Russia after flight MH17 was shot down in 2014 and backed sanctions against the country In 2018, however, he sparked outrage from relatives of MH17 victims by decrying "russophobia" during a Moscow visit. Wilders describes himself as a "a big fan of NATO and of the Americans" but says Russia could be an ally against migration and Islamic terrorism.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/P. Dejong
Matteo Salvini and the new rulers in Rome
Italy's populist League and the Five Star Movement form a ruling coalition in Italy. Both parties oppose sanctions on Russia and NATO's "aggressive" buildup in Eastern Europe. Following the elections, the League's leader Matteo Salvini said he wanted "to work for peace, not for war. I do not want to assemble little tanks like the game of Risk.”
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Solaro
7 images1 | 7
EU split: EU officials said Britain had not yet proposed any new sanctions on Russia to the other 27 EU member states. Britain's position within the EU is seen as compromised by its decision to exit the bloc in March 2019. The EU recently agreed to renew sanctions against Russia relating to its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Its current sanctions are in place until the end of January 2019. Any new EU sanctions would require unanimity among all 28 states.
Poland and the Baltic states back Britain's hawkish position, while other EU member states including Italy, Austria and Greece, want more engagement with Moscow.
British experts at the scene of the attack in Salisbury earlier this yearImage: picture-alliance/PA Wire/A. Matthews
Relations at a low: UK-Russian relations have in a poor state for some time and were exacerbated by a chemical weapons attack in England earlier this year. Britain, the EU and the US blame Russia for a nerve agent attack against a Russian double agent in Salisbury. The Kremlin denies any involvement.
Concerted action: US lawmakers also called for stronger measures to counteract what they called "malign" Russian activities. One senator called for a new sanctions package "from hell" and would punish Russia for actions including its annexation of Crimea, involvement in the Syrian civil war and cyberattacks seeking to influence US elections.
Trump intervention: US President Donald Trump told the news agency Reuters on Monday that he would consider lifting sanctions against Russia if it were to do something positive for the US, for instance in Syria or in Ukraine. The move was welcomed by Moscow. "We of course welcome statements that affirm a readiness to cooperate, but we would welcome even more some kind of concrete actions," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
