Liz Truss slammed by Russian media after Moscow visit

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Following her visit to Moscow last week, Ms Truss commented on her meeting with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, a notoriously fierce political character. Since the meeting, Lavrov has taken many opportunities to publicly humiliate Truss which she has recently shrugged off.

Amid the rising tensions and threat of Russian attack on Ukraine, Truss felt compelled to visit Moscow to offer a warning to Russian officials of the dangers of invasion.

Ms Truss has insisted that her decision to hold talks in Russia was the right course of action and that she had to deliver her message of caution to President Putin’s administration.
Lavrov used a press conference after his meeting with Truss to try and undermine her but stating that their conversation was “between deaf and dumb” and he accused her of being unprepared for the talks and that she was not aware of basic geography.

Not only did he publicly attempt to humiliate the Foreign Secretary, but he also reportedly employed the same tactics in their private meeting.

He allegedly asked Truss about the UK’s stance on the disputed sovereignty of specific towns.

She supposedly replied stating clearly that they were Ukrainian territory, at which point the British ambassador had to intervene to clarify that they were in fact in Russia.

Truss shrugged off these attempts to undermine her in a comment she made on Monday stating that: “Of course, the Russians didn’t like what I had to say but I say it nevertheless.”

The Foreign Secretary feels as though she made her point and put across Britain’s point of view. 

She announced to reporters at the Foreign Office: “I went to Russia to deliver a very clear message, which is that it’s Russia who is the aggressor, they have 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border and if they stage an incursion into Ukraine, that would have a damaging effect on the Russian people and the Russian government.”

She added: “I want them to desist, and I want them to be aware that there will be severe costs of an invasion.”

A spokesperson at Downing Street commented on the cold and unproductive meeting and said that “no-one was under any illusions about what can be achieved in a single meeting”.

The PM’s official spokesman said: “It’s an important opportunity to present our understanding of the situation and to hear directly from the Russians on their position as well.”

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“We will continue always to explore all opportunities to take a diplomatic path and we stand ready to have further discussions with our Russian counterparts at all levels in the interest of de-escalating this crisis.”

Adding: “It’s crucial that we take all these opportunities and continue to put forward this message about how further aggression will be responded to, so Russia can be in no doubt about our position and (the) position of our NATO allies.”

Ukraine has been warned of an attack at any time and the crisis is at a tipping point with Western leaders making last-ditch attempts to encourage Putin to retreat.

On Monday evening, President Biden and Boris Johnson had a 40-minute phone call to discuss last-minute diplomatic negotiations as the time window is closing to solve this crisis.

Both Biden and the PM have issued a final warning to the Russian president to retreat from the “precipice” of war.

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