MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/. Britain’s newly-appointed Foreign Secretary David Cameron will be unable to "step in the same river" in relations with Russia again, Yelena Ananyeva, the head of the Center for British Studies at the Institute of Europe under the Russian Academy of Sciences has told TASS.
She recalled that Cameron had become Britain’s prime minister in 2010 after the Gordon Brown-led Labor Cabinet froze relations with Russia in 2007 in connection with the death of ex-FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko. Ananyeva pointed out that Cameron and former British Foreign Secretary William Hague in their dialogue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov "worked very hard trying to turn this page and mend relations."
"Cameron even paid a visit to Moscow in 2011. And an agreement on cooperation between the two countries in the field of modernization was signed," Ananyeva continued. "Then relations deteriorated somewhat, as Cameron tried to play the role of a mediator between Washington and Moscow, but failed. In 2014, already after Crimea’s reunification with Russia, relations turned for the worse again to have remained on a downward trajectory ever since."
"An anti-Russian consensus has been firmly established in Britain. Both with regard to Ukraine and Russia, Britain’s policy will depend not on Cameron's personality, but on the overall situation. In particular, on decisions by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the influence of the United States and the situation on the ground in Ukraine," Ananyeva pointed out. "In other words, the situation is changing, and it is impossible to step in the same river twice."
In the context of the British political tradition, it would be wrong to "personalize" the decision-making process in London. "To speculate that after taking office Cameron can establish ties with someone right away would be incorrect," the analyst said, commenting on the significance of Cameron's contacts established during his tenure as prime minister from 2010 to 2016.
About the appointment
On Monday morning it became known that Sunak had dismissed Home Secretary Suella Braverman and appointed James Cleverly as her successor. Former Prime Minister David Cameron took over as foreign secretary.