As Western diplomats scramble to resolve growing tensions with Moscow, the UK’s top diplomat has reportedly made a major error during crunch talks, allegedly proclaiming that London would never recognize the sovereignty of two regions universally considered to be part of Russia.
In an article published by Moscow daily Kommersant on Thursday, two Russian diplomatic sources claimed that British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss made the faux-pas while speaking in head-to-head discussions with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
According to the outlet, London’s top diplomat stressed that Moscow must withdraw its armed forces from the frontier with Ukraine, at which Lavrov reiterated that the Russian military is stationed in its own territory and has the right to conduct maneuvers within its borders.
The veteran Russian official is said to have turned to Truss and asked whether London recognizes Moscow’s sovereignty over the regions of Rostov and Voronezh, where large troop movements are said to have taken place in recent days, close to the Ukrainian border.