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Kremlin reminds UK’s Johnson of duty to ensure Russian embassy’s security

The Kremlin spokesman comments on Johnson’s calls for anti-war rallies near the Russian embassy in London
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson AP Photo
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
© AP Photo

MOSCOW, October 12. /TASS/. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has reminded British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson about the obligation to ensure the security of the foreign diplomatic missions in the UK.

"The foreign secretary certainly knows about the Vienna convention and the UK responsibility for the security of the diplomatic missions on its territory," Peskov said, commenting on Johnson’s calls for anti-war rallies near the Russian embassy in London.

At an emergency debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday Boris Johnson said:

"I'd certainly like to see demonstrations outside the Russian embassy. Where is the Stop The War Coalition at the moment? Where are they?" 

Peskov also noted that Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had already given an exhaustive commentary on the UK foreign secretary’s statement.

"Boris Johnson seems to have moved from words to deeds and used the weapon he had threatened Russia with - shame," Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page. "We feel really ashamed for him."

The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations regulates the work of foreign diplomatic missions. Under the document, "the premises of the mission shall be inviolable" while "the receiving State is under a special duty to take all appropriate steps to protect the premises of the mission against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the mission or impairment of its dignity."