Kosachev stressed that the situation in Syria had not changed during the preparations for Johnson’s visit, and if Johnson meant chemical attack in Syria’s Idlib under "recent developments" – no one linked this incident with Moscow.
"It is a clumsy attempted demarche, which is ridiculous in terms of big diplomacy," Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the upper house of the Russian parliament's international affairs committee, said.
"As for the [Johnson’s] words that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will deliver a coordinated position on Syria to Russia, thereby Boris Johnson confirms that the United Kingdom does not consider itself an independent power," Kosachev emphasized.
Earlier in the day, chairman of the Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky said that the cancellation of Johnson’s visit would not have a negative impact on the bilateral relations, as "they already are at quite a low level."
On Thursday night, the United States carried out a missile attack on Ash Sha’irat, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the city of Homs, claiming, with no evidence provided, that the chemical attack on Syria's Idlib was allegedly launched from that airfield. Following the strike, UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations Matthew Rycroft said in a statement that the United Kingdom supported those actions by the US military. In contrast, the attack was sharply criticized by Russia.
