Kremlin Expects No Improvement in Ties With Britain Under Prime Minister Truss

After weeks of campaigning, Liz Truss, known for her hawkish stance on Russia, was named the new leader of the British Conservative Party and Prime Minister on September 5.

Moscow does not expect any immediate improvement in ties with Britain under new Prime Minister Liz Truss judging by her recent remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov pointed to the plethora of 'anti-Russia' statements made by Truss in her capacity as UK Foreign Secretary. Regarding immediate prospects of relations between Moscow and London, Peskov also told journalists:

“In the foreseeable future, we do not expect any changes. I would not like to say that these changes can happen for the worse, because it is difficult to imagine anything worse.”

According to him, the rivals in the race to succeed outgoing UK PM Boris Johnson had obviously competed with each other in "anti-Russian rhetoric, in threats, and also what further steps to take against Russia."

“I don’t think you can hope for something positive,” he concluded.

Liz Truss was declared the next British PM earlier on Monday after she won the Conservative party leadership race against her rival, ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Truss has unabashedly proclaimed her hawkish stance on Russia, repeatedly calling for more military assistance to Ukraine, where Moscow is conducting its special military operation. She has also doubled down on the need for boosting anti-Russia sanctions.

Earlier, Sergei Belyaev, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's second European department, also commented on the election results.

According to him, there are no prerequisites for positive relations with London. He recalled how Liz Truss as Foreign Secretary previously stated she wanted the UK to follow Canada's lead and seize the assets of Russians living there so that they can be given to Ukraine.

“I am supportive of the concept,” Truss had said in July.

The implementation of the 'ill-considered policy' could lead to capital flight and instability in the UK itself, Belyaev said. Sergei Belyaev underscored that there was no legal basis for such a step, which, British lawyers have already recognized, and pointed to the disastrous consequences of such actions for the reputation and status of the UK as an international financial hub.

Previously, Liz Truss, who has embraced one of the most bellicose stances towards Moscow over the Ukraine crisis,vowed to declassify more intelligence about Russia's actions in the world if she became the new UK prime minister.

"I will take the same tough approach to counter malign activity from potentially hostile states and others who threaten global security," she said in an article for The Telegraph.