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Lavrov slams London’s attempts to dictate policy on Russia to US and EU

Lavrov has commented on UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s plans to persuade US President Donald Trump to expand the sanctions

© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

SOCHI, August 21. /TASS/. The UK, which is calling for tougher sanctions against Russia, is trying to dictate foreign policy to the US and the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

"Our British counterparts have pretty high self-esteem," Lavrov said commenting on UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s plans to persuade US President Donald Trump to expand these sanctions.

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"The country, which is leaving the EU as part of Brexit, is trying to dictate foreign policy to the EU, and now it turns out that London wants to dictate foreign policy with regard to Russia to Washington as well."

According to Lavrov, "London is doing the same thing in relations with Europeans, demanding tougher sanctions from them citing the Salisbury incident, which has not been investigated to date." "When British reporters asked him [Hunt] whether there was any progress in investigating that incident, he did not know what to answer journalists from his own country," Russia’s top diplomat added.

Speaking at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, Hunt earlier urged the European Union to ensure the implementation of a comprehensive package of sanctions against Russia.

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