MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. A termination of diplomatic relations between Russia and the United Kingdom is not in the interests of both parties, Russian Ambassador to Great Britain Andrey Kelin said on Monday in an interview with Russia’s Izvestia daily.

"A severance of diplomatic relations is an extreme measure, which leaves arms dealings only," he said. "In my opinion, this is currently not in the interests of London and in our [Russian] interests."

Kelin noted that relations between the two countries started deteriorating in 2018 following the Skripals case, but business, humanitarian and economic interaction remained. However, only bilateral diplomatic relations were the only to remain after February 24, according to the ambassador.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics for assistance he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine.

In response to Russia’s decision, the West began to impose numerous large-scale sanctions on Russia stage by stage. Along with this move, Western countries began to supply weapons and military equipment worth billions of US dollars to the Kiev regime.