The Foreign Secretary of United Kingdom, James Cleverly, on Wednesday, March 1, says that he respects India’s judgement to have bilateral relations with Russia.
“For the UK, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is unacceptable. We’re helping to defend the UN charter, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope this war comes to a swift conclusion. I respect India’s judgement to have bilateral relations with countries of its choice,” the secretary of the UK stated in an interview with ANI.
Recently, the Russia-Ukraine conflict marks its anniversary on February 24, 2023. Prior to that, on February 8, the UK announced a new round of sanctions against the Russian military and Kremlin elites.
In a statement the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office announced that, “In total the UK’s sanction package hits 6 entities providing military equipment such as drones for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as 8 individuals and 1 entity connected to nefarious financial networks that help maintain wealth and power amongst Kremlin elites.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with ANI, Cleverly opened up about the violent attacks on Indians in the UK. “We take the security of people very seriously, our police and security services always pay close regard to such activities and if it is an illegal activity, we act upon it,” he said.
During his exclusive interview with the media outlet, Cleverly also talked about the recent incident of BBC. The Foreign Secretary stated that BBC is an independent organization and is separate from the UK Government.
He furthermore added that, “I didn’t see the documentary but I’ve seen reactions in UK and India. BBC is an independent organisation and separate from government. I enjoy a strong personal relationship with Dr Jaishankar…relationship between UK-India growing stronger by the day.”