Boris confronts Russia at frosty press conference
BORIS JOHNSON yesterday confronted Russia over attempts to meddle in British elections as his Moscow visit descended into a slanging match.
The Foreign Secretary said Russia tried to derail British democracy, prompting Sergei Lavrov, his counterpart, to accuse him of “making up” allegations of interference in Brexit.
The exchanges, played out in front of journalists and diplomats, saw the men accuse each other of dishonesty.
As Mr Lavrov denied any undermining of Britain’s democratic processes by computer hacking, Mr Johnson interrupted, saying none of the attempts had been successful and pointedly referred to Russian interference in elections around the world.
Mr Johnson refused to answer when asked if he trusted Mr Lavrov, despite the Russian minister saying he trusted the Foreign Secretary. Mr Johnson later joked that he had handed his coat and hat to Mr Lavrov in a show of trust and affection.
“There was nothing in the pockets,” Mr Lavrov said, prompting Mr Johnson to reply in surprise: “You’ve checked? How do you know?”
The meeting was an attempt to break the deadlock between the two states before talks on North Korea and Syria. But tensions rose after Mr Johnson said ahead of the visit that the UK was ready and able to respond to Russian aggression at any moment.
Mr Lavrov said: “Our relations are at a low level, and not because of our side.” He added: “You prefer to talk about the reasons publicly. Whereas we would prefer to talk about our reasons not through the microphone but directly.” The row was reignited when Mr Lavrov claimed Mr Johnson had deliberately contradicted him in a bid to protect his reputation with the British media, prompting the UK Foreign Secretary to hit back: “Sergei, it’s your reputation I’m worried about.”
He added: “Russian attempts to interfere in our referendums and elections, whatever they might be, have not been successful.”
Had they been successful, he said, “that would have been an entirely different matter”. Mr Lavrov responded: “I think you have made all this up in your Western community and unfortunately right now you are hostage to this subject, it is very difficult for you to climb down from the fence.” The evidence produced so far of Russian attempts at interference amounted to no more than the spending of “a few kopecks” on social media adverts, he said.
“I can’t remember any actions of Russia that would have been aggressive towards the UK,” he added.
“We never accused London of anything. On the contrary we heard some accusations – sometimes in an insulting manner – against us that we allegedly support the criminal regime in Syria, that we are aggressors and occupiers and annex someone’s territories.”
In a move likely to further aggravate his hosts, Mr Johnson laid roses on a Moscow bridge where opposition leader Alexander Nemtsov was murdered in 2015. An admirer of Margaret Thatcher, he had tried to make Russia a more democratic and free market state.