LONDON, April 17, 2025 (BSS/TASS) - The relationship between Russia and Great Britain is facing a deep crisis, and pressure on Russian diplomats has grown significantly, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrey Kelin told TASS in an interview.

"The Russian-British relations have been in a long-standing crisis. Like under the Conservatives, the current Labour government positions itself as an instigator of unfriendly anti-Russian campaigns. As a rule, to the detriment of the clear interests of its own citizens," the Russian diplomat said.

According to Kelin, artificial irritants like a continuation of the Skripal case and fabricated stories about espionage and sabotage have been created to turn Britain and its partners against Russia. "Under false pretexts, restrictions on our embassy have been imposed. And even as this pressure increases, it will clearly receive an appropriate Russian response," he said with confidence.

While any meaningful dialogue in most directions has been suspended or "reduced to an absolute minimum," Russia maintains diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom, Kelin continued. "Communication with British diplomats continues, albeit mostly on embassy operations," he explained.

"As our president said, even as Russia is a self-sufficient country, it is ready to work with Britain if Britain itself is willing to do so. But any normalization can happen only if London returns to a mutually respectful dialogue on equal terms [with Russia], considering the two countries' interests. Unfortunately, London has not shown any such commitment," the Russian ambassador lamented.

On March 12, the UK Foreign Office revoked accreditation for an employee of the Russian Embassy in London and a Russian diplomat's wife in response to Moscow's actions. Two days earlier, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) told TASS that the second secretary of the UK Embassy in Moscow and the husband of another British diplomat had been stripped of their accreditation for deliberately providing false information about themselves and showing signs of intelligence and disruptive activities. The Russian Foreign Ministry ordered the two to leave the country within two weeks.