On August 23, Russian Foreign Ministry officials stated that reports by British media suggesting Moscow intended to downgrade diplomatic relations with London were unfounded. The ministry clarified that its statements did not indicate any such intention and attributed the claims to unnamed sources. The ministry also confirmed that the decision on appointing a new ambassador to London would be made in due course.
Earlier, British media had reported that the conclusion of Russian Ambassador Andrei Kelin’s mission in London might signal Moscow’s efforts to influence Britain’s position on Ukraine. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed these reports as baseless.
The Russian Embassy in London further reiterated via a Telegram channel that nothing in its communications indicated plans to lower diplomatic relations with Britain. The embassy added that bilateral ties had deteriorated to unprecedented levels solely due to actions by London.
Additionally, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stated that the foreign ministry was unaware of any UK initiative to resume political dialogue with Moscow. He emphasized that if Britain sought such engagement, the necessary platform already existed.
