Last week Moscow came under heavy criticism from Westminster: UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson accused Russia of "deliberate attacks on humanitarian convoys" in Syria and told British parliamentarians that he "would certainly like to see demonstrations outside the Russian Embassy" in London.
For his part, former Tory minister Andrew Mitchell went even so far as to suggest shooting down Russian jets over Syria. He also didn't scruple to draw parallels between Russia and Nazi Germany.
"We have to step up the pressure on Assad's regime through sanctions and on the Russians through sanctions," Johnson said last week, adding that "if Russia continues on its current path then I think that great country is in danger of becoming a pariah nation," in a reference to the Russo-Syrian anti-terrorist operation in Aleppo.
Whatever "strong" the evidence was it has not yet surfaced to prove Johnson's allegation. On Monday Russia's Ambassador to the United Kingdom Alexander Yakovenko disclosed that ten days ago the Russian Embassy made an official inquiry with the UK Foreign Office regarding evidence to confirm Johnson's allegations.
"The essence of the response that we received comes down to the UK side not having such evidence," Yakovenko pointed out.
Commenting on the matter, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wittily remarked: "It looks like Boris Johnson has moved from words to action, and has unleashed the very weapon with which he threatened Russia — shame. As of now, we all feel ashamed on his behalf."
Curiously enough, Johnson and Mitchell became objects of ridicule in the British media due to their extravagant claims.
Rod (Roderick) Liddle of The Spectator lambasted the UK policymakers' warmongering stance toward Moscow in his article with the telling title "Stop this stupid sabre-rattling against Russia."
"When Reagan announced on microphone 'we begin bombing in five minutes' it was evident to everyone that he was joking. Today, when some deranged Tory MP clambers to his feet and demands we start shooting down Russian jets [over Syria], it is evident to everyone that he is not joking, merely idiotic and dangerous," Liddle highlighted.
Referring to NATO's "humanitarian interventions" in Iraq and Libya the journalist underscored that what the West has done "in the name of dippy, well-meaning, liberal evangelism has cost far more lives than can be laid at the door of the Russkies and Vladimir Putin."
"The [US-led] coalition action in Syria and Iraq is as incoherent and misguided as everything else we have done in the Middle East of late — from the invasion of Iraq, via the support for those somewhat chimeric 'Arab Spring' rebellions to the catastrophic and stupid intervention in Libya," Liddle emphasized adding that the West is fighting in support of "nice moderates" "who do not really exist."
Liddle noted that while the Coalition is bombarding the Iraqi city of Mosul, a Daesh stronghold, Vladimir Putin announced a ceasefire in Aleppo to let civilians and militants leave the city.
"And perhaps this is another reason for the anti-Russian apoplectic fury of both our government and the feeble and weary US administration — Putin is a canny operator. He is winning the propaganda war with some ease," the British journalist stressed.
As for British peace demonstrations propagated by UK Foreign Secretary Johnson, they have "so far materialized in a lone gentleman with a poster outside [the Russian] Embassy [in London] — not something I would describe as a big diplomatic victory, " Yakovenko remarked on October 16.
It seems that Britons do not unanimously share the anti-Russian stance of their flamboyant Foreign Secretary.
