Moscow views the UK’s visa denial to members of the Russian delegation to the Farnborough International Airshow as an unfriendly act and reserves the right to an adequate response, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said Monday.
UK authorities denied visas to members of the Russian delegation and journalists last week, saying the move was due to Moscow’s approach to the crisis in Ukraine.
“We consider such actions by the British side to be explicitly unfriendly and wait for official explanations of the current situation, which is beyond the limits of normal relations between states. At the same time, we reserve the right for a ‘mirror’ response, which is acceptable in diplomacy," said Yuri Materiy, a deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s information and press department.
Earlier on Monday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin advised Russian delegation members to end their participation in the Farnborough International Airshow.
“I recommend our delegation winds up its participation in the exhibition and returns home," Rogozin, who is in charge of the defense and space industry, wrote on Twitter.
The 2014 Farnborough International Airshow, the world’s largest aerospace exhibition, is taking place in England on July 14-20.
The airshow occurs once every other year, in even years. This year the airshow is to have 1,500 exhibitors, 70 grounded aircraft and 23 due to take part in flying displays.
The exhibition is expected to attract over 100,000 visitors and an even greater number of potential buyers, in addition to some 90 official delegations and more than 20 countries that are to have their own stands at the show.
