New UK Government to Continue With Harsh Anti-Russia Rhetoric

Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of Russia's upper house Committee for Foreign Affairs said he doesn't any changes for the better in relations between the United Kingdom and Russia.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — With the Conservative Party win in the UK general election, the current harsh stance adopted by the United Kingdom toward Russia is highly likely to remain unchanged, Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of Russia's upper house Committee for Foreign Affairs said Friday.

The general election took place in the United Kingdom on May 7. The latest vote count suggests that the Conservatives have secured a majority — 330 seats in the parliament.

The Russian senator noted that unlike other major European Union states, such as Germany and France, the United Kingdom has always taken a harsh approach to Russia.

"In the British approach [toward Russia] there is no evidence of any further analysis, no rethink of what is happening in Europe on the whole, or with Ukraine, or the Russian Federation. The British approaches are extremely conservative and that is why I don't expect any changes for the better from the point of view of Russian interests here," Kosachev told RIA Novosti.

According to Kosachev, with the Conservatives continuing as the ruling party, no immediate changes in British foreign policy should be expected.

"Foreign policy in the UK will remain as it is, domestic policy might undergo certain changes caused by the rapid strengthening of the position of Scottish separatists," Kosachev said.

Regarding the future of the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union, the Russian senator expects a surge of Euroscepticism.

"Cameron's famous pledge to hold a referendum on [British] EU membership in 2017 may bring the British authorities surprises that are hard to predict… If this happens it will be the strongest shock in the history of the European Union, it will strike a strongest blow to the very idea of European integration, it will become an example for other states," the Russian senator predicted.

Relations between Russia and the European Union deteriorated amid the Ukrainian crisis, as the bloc accused Moscow of interference in Ukrainian internal affairs. Moscow has repeatedly denied these claims.

In April, Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom Alexander Yakovenko expressed hope that the new British government, formed after the general elections, would work to improve relations with Russia.