Kremlin hopes for UK ‘political epiphany’ after Boris Johnson’s exit

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street in London. (REUTERS)

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that former British foreign minister Boris Johnson’s contribution to UK-Russia relations was very modest and that Moscow was now waiting for Britain to have a political epiphany.

The poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury in March has caused a crisis in relations between Moscow and London, and Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer has said a British woman, Dawn Sturgess, died on Sunday after being poisoned by the same nerve agent. Russia denies British accusations of involvement and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Moscow hoped reason would now prevail.

“We expect, let’s say, Britain to have a political epiphany on this topic,” Peskov told reporters. “Sooner or later we expect some reasonable explanations or arguments about the recent situation in Salisbury and the situation that followed it.”