The UK Ambassador to Russia Deborah Bronnert was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry this morning over British involvement in the Oct. 29 attacks on its Black Sea Fleet. She reportedly left the Ministry building without comment. On her way into the meeting, she walked through street demonstrators with banners, such as “No to the UK Terrorist State.”
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs later released the following statement (full text and headline included):
On the United Kingdom’s Involvement in the Terrorist Attack Against the Black Sea Fleet Ships in Sevastopol
In connection with the Defense Ministry’s reports about the United Kingdom’s involvement in the October 29 terrorist attack against the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, British Ambassador to Russia Deborah Bronnert was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on November 3.
A strong protest in connection with the British military specialists’ active participation in training and providing supplies to the units of the Ukrainian special operations forces, including with the goal of conducting acts of sabotage at sea, were expressed to the Ambassador. Concrete facts of that kind of activities by London were provided.
The demarche emphasized that such confrontational actions by the British pose the threat of an escalation and can lead to unpredictable and dangerous consequences.
It was pointed out that such hostile provocations were unacceptable and a demand was put forward to stop them immediately. Should these acts of aggression that are fraught with direct implication in the conflict continue, the responsibility for their harmful consequences and the mounting tensions in relations between our countries will lie entirely with the British side.
