Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also accused the West of “butting” Ukraine with weapons.
Moscow:
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday Moscow’s relations with London were at a low point as he met British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace for rare talks amid heightened tensions over Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, our level of cooperation is close to zero and is about to cross the zero meridian and go negative, which is undesirable,” Shoigu said in comments by Russian news agencies.
He said he hoped the talks “do not have any escalation and raise the temperature further” in relations between Russia and NATO.
Shoigu also accused the West of “gouging out” Ukraine with weapons.
“It’s coming from all sides and it’s done publicly. It’s done in a demonstrable way. It’s not entirely clear why,” he said.
Wallace, who is accompanied by Chief of the General Staff of Defense Tony Radakin, will also meet with the Chief of Staff of the Russian Army Valery Gerasimov.
He is the latest Western official sent to Moscow in a desperate attempt to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis.
Russia has about 100,000 troops stationed near its border with Ukraine, and the West fears the Kremlin might order an attack.
Wallace’s visit comes a day after Britain’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow for talks that appeared fruitless and ended in mutual accusations.
Relations between London and Moscow are at an all-time low, with Russia viewing Britain as the particular enemy of all Western countries.
The last meeting between the British and Russian defense ministers took place in 2013.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
