State Duma speaker says he is glad Russian-UK ties no longer at standstill
MOSCOW. Oct 15 (Interfax) - Relations between Russia and the United Kingdom are beginning to develop further today after a long standstill, Sergei Naryshkin, speaker of the State Duma, the lower chamber of Russia's parliament, said.
"We are pleased that political contacts between our countries and the leaders of our countries have become sustainable, which, I would say, has allowed Russian-UK relations to emerge out of this lengthy pause," Naryshkin said at a meeting with UK Minister for International Security Strategies Andrew Morrison in Moscow on Tuesday.
Morrison is also the UK prime minister's special representative for events marking the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I.
Morrison's visit is a positive example of continuing development in these bilateral relations, he said.
The strategic dialogue between the Russian and UK foreign and defense ministers is a new format of cooperation between the two countries, Naryshkin said, adding that cultural contacts between Russia and the United Kingdom are important as well.
Naryshkin also spoke in favor of further promoting ties between the two countries' parliaments concerning key global topics, including the Syrian crisis.
"In this context, we are pleased to note the UK Parliament's firm support for Russia's insistence on the unacceptability of the use of foreign military force in order to resolve the Syrian conflict, as well as the fact that it did not allow the UK government to join a military operation proposed by the U.S. administration," Naryshkin said.
